Labour and Tory Stealing of Lib Dem Ideas the Sincerest Form of Flattery

The Liberal Democrats today accused the Tories of hypocrisy, following Conservative complaints that Alistair Darling had stolen their tax policies. Several key proposals announced yesterday, which the Conservatives claimed were their own, had actually originally been proposed by the Liberal Democrats. They include:

• Charging aviation tax on planes, not passengers (passed by Liberal Democrat conference in 2004)
• Taxing non-domiciles (passed by Liberal Democrat conference in 2007)
• Increasing the inheritance tax threshold (passed by Liberal Democrat conference in 2007)

Shepway Liberal Democrat Vice Chair Neil Matthews commented:

"For the Tories to be complaining about the government stealing their policies is like a gang of thieves protesting about their houses being burgled. Outrageous hypocrisy!"

He added:

"Both have failed to come up with any measures to help the poorest in society or alternatives to the discredited Council Tax, which is now due to rise at double the rate of inflation. The Council Tax hurts many local residents here in Hythe really badly, especially pensioners.

"Lib Dem proposals would entirely scrap Council Tax and replace it with a tax based on ability to pay - meaning the majority of local pensioners and those on local incomes would pay nothing at all. Let's hope the Labour or Conservative Party's steal that idea next!"