14 October 2007

Has Darling made a Balls of it?

He was supposed to be boringly competent, a safe pair of hands. But has Mr Cool lost the place? The Observer (here) and The Independent (here) appear to think so.

Did he really mean to encourage the buyers of second houses through his reform of capital gains tax, while imposing an additional tax burden on the creation of small businesses? And why is he helping the rich (those inheriting more than £300,000), while doing virtually nothing for children in poverty? What did he think he was doing?

It is always possible (probable?) that he was doing what he was told - in which case he is a cipher rather than a plonker. But, either way, is this the man we want in charge of the nation's finances?

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