Local Lib Dem MP, Norman Baker has slammed the Tories' weak position on the economy during their annual autumn conference and has demanded answers to questions about the economy.
The Lewes MP has said that, with the credit crunch biting hard and many local people experiencing real hardship thanks to the significant increases of food and fuel bills, local residents in Lewes, Seaford, Newhaven and Polegate will not take the Tories seriously if they continue to be a 'no-policy-party' that fails to outline their plans to restore the economy to health.
Mr Baker has therefore written to George Osborne, the Tory Shadow Chancellor, to ask him to answer a number of specific questions on Tory economic policy and clearly set out his party's position.
Commenting, Norman said:
"The credit crunch started last year but, so far, the Conservatives have said a lot about how badly the economy is going, and very little about how they want the economy restored to health. So far the Conservatives have failed to tackle any of the big issues facing families today.
"If the Conservatives want local people to take them seriously, they should tell them what their policies actually are. It seems to me that the Conservatives are either clueless about how to solve the economic problems or have policies that they do their utmost to keep hidden.
"Their empty words have got them through until now, but they are no substitute for actual proposals when it comes to tackling the serious problems facing us. With people being pushed to the brink with higher energy and food bills, a coherent economic plan is needed, not a cruel deception for PR purposes.
"If they want to establish any economic credibility with voters in the local area then the Conservatives must stop dodging the tough choices and tell people in Lewes, Seaford, Newhaven and Polegate where they stand on the big issues."
Mr Baker has written to George Osborne requesting answers to the following questions:
The only tax proposals announced by the Conservatives are to cut Inheritance Tax for millionaires, abolish Stamp Duty on shares and introduce a marriage-based tax system which would penalise widows, those escaping domestic violence and anyone else who is not married.
The Conservatives have refused to criticise the City hedge funds, which have significantly worsened the recent financial crisis.
The Conservatives brought council house building effectively to an end when they were last in government. Now council housing is badly needed but the Conservatives have been silent about this.
The Conservatives failed to see the Northern Rock fiasco coming. When it did arrive they kept changing their position on how to deal with it. Now that other banks are facing difficulties will they continue to oppose state ownership on ideological grounds?
Whilst the Government let the boom in credit get out of control, the Conservatives sat idly by. Now that the housing bubble has burst, the Conservatives are happy to make political capital. Their frontbencher Andrew Mitchell MP said that the economic problems besetting the country have created 'an incredibly good moment' for the Conservatives. How can taxpayers believe they will do anything to tackle the problem were they in government? (Source: ePolitix.com 26/9/08)
High house prices mean many people are unable to get their foot on the first rung of the property ladder. However, the Conservatives have so far failed to accept that prices needs to be more realistic. They were the first to propose a Stamp Duty holiday to get first time buyers into the market. Yet that same policy completely failed when they introduced it the last time they were in office. People did not want to buy homes which a few months later would be worth a great deal less than they paid for it.
The last Conservative Government introduced the unfair Council Tax in the wake of the disastrous Poll Tax. 15 years on and after it has doubled under the current Government, the Tories have still failed to tackle this flawed tax, which disproportionately hits pensioners and poor families.
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