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Nick Cleggs' views on the NHS and Taxation in 2005
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In 2005 Nick Clegg did an interview with the Indy, indicating he wanted to break up the NHS, thought raising national insurance on middle income earners was 'unjust and misguided' and thought his party making blandishment tax promises to a selected group of voters was wrong!
Selected a few pieces, remember this is his own words
"We have taken quite a small C conservative approach to public services in which one candidate after the other says 'I will save this I will save that'. If one is brutally honest it has basically been focused on the case for greater public money for public services."
But after a general election the party can now move on and "let its hair down" politically. It can even afford to be "reckless" in its thinking.
it goes on
"One very, very important point - I think breaking up the NHS is exactly what you do need to do to make it a more responsive service." Then he goes further, even refusing to rule out the insurance-based models used in mainland Europe and Canada.
"I don't think anything should be ruled out. I think it would be really, really daft to rule out any other model from Europe or elsewhere. I do think they deserve to be looked out because frankly the faults of the British health service compared to others still leave much to be desired."
He says proposals in a consultation document to raise taxes for the middle classes - through rises in national insurance contributions - are sorely misguided and even "unjust".
He is "worried" that the party's tax policy is too preoccupied with making the sums add up and offering "blandishments" to particular groups of voters, such as pensioners, rather than framing a coherent political message.
So in 2010, now he apparently wants to
(1)Protect the NHS,
(2)Support the NI rise which would hit not only middle income earners but low income earners too
and
(3)Promised to remove the first £10000 you earn out of tax which would allow everyone including high earners who achieve a salary of £100,000 pa to get the same £750 put in their pocket that people who earn a very small get, basically all the voter dynamic that he would expect to vote Lib Dem in this election!
So why the turn around?
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/nick-clegg-the-future-of-british-politics-will-inescapably-have-to-be-liberal--with-a-small-l-507402.html
NB - Not ignoring anybodys' replies just off to work, so will be back later.
Selected a few pieces, remember this is his own words
"We have taken quite a small C conservative approach to public services in which one candidate after the other says 'I will save this I will save that'. If one is brutally honest it has basically been focused on the case for greater public money for public services."
But after a general election the party can now move on and "let its hair down" politically. It can even afford to be "reckless" in its thinking.
it goes on
"One very, very important point - I think breaking up the NHS is exactly what you do need to do to make it a more responsive service." Then he goes further, even refusing to rule out the insurance-based models used in mainland Europe and Canada.
"I don't think anything should be ruled out. I think it would be really, really daft to rule out any other model from Europe or elsewhere. I do think they deserve to be looked out because frankly the faults of the British health service compared to others still leave much to be desired."
He says proposals in a consultation document to raise taxes for the middle classes - through rises in national insurance contributions - are sorely misguided and even "unjust".
He is "worried" that the party's tax policy is too preoccupied with making the sums add up and offering "blandishments" to particular groups of voters, such as pensioners, rather than framing a coherent political message.
So in 2010, now he apparently wants to
(1)Protect the NHS,
(2)Support the NI rise which would hit not only middle income earners but low income earners too
and
(3)Promised to remove the first £10000 you earn out of tax which would allow everyone including high earners who achieve a salary of £100,000 pa to get the same £750 put in their pocket that people who earn a very small get, basically all the voter dynamic that he would expect to vote Lib Dem in this election!
So why the turn around?
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/nick-clegg-the-future-of-british-politics-will-inescapably-have-to-be-liberal--with-a-small-l-507402.html
NB - Not ignoring anybodys' replies just off to work, so will be back later.
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2- They don't particularly like the NI rise but such is the state of things they've accepted it.
3- The tax policy is aimed at rewarding work, everyone who works but they've been clear there will be extensive changes for top earners who will ultimately pick up the tab.
That was said in 2005. Sadly the total mess were in now has rather changed the dynamics of our political debate.
The Tories were pledged to spending the same as Labour £ for £ before all this happened. Where did that promise go?
I think I would call this "being able to adapt" - it happens all the time and got us out of our caves all those years ago