Spawn Of The Manse Proffers Pre-Election Bribes

Darling & Brown - sound like a couple of provincial solicitors (apologies to any provincial solicitors) - have prepared a pre-election package to get the voters onside.

Measures include reducing VAT to 15% for a year or two. No wonder they needed Baron Mandy back - VAT is an EU tax and it seems no one can reduce their rate to below the 15% threshold without going into the Headmaster's study and begging for permission.

Presumably this is Baron Mandy's influence - a bit like him suddenly discovering a 'loophole' through the EU regulations which are buggering up the Post Office.

The Times article also reveals an interesting little nugget:

Darling will emphasise new efficiency savings he intends to achieve in Whitehall budgets, worth at least £5 billion a year from 2010 onwards.

Officials are drawing up plans for a sale of government assets including the Met Office, the Ordnance Survey and thousands of acres of Forestry Commission land.

Presumably these savings won't come from scrapping the expensive and abominable databases and ID card system, or the hundreds of totally pointless quangos - unlike useful ones such as Ordnance Survey? Or sacking the scads of poisonous private advisers and consultants the government use?

No, thought not.

Mind you, that's from 2010 - these bastards may not be in power then, so it's not much bloody use now. If they are, it'll be academic, because we'll all be fucked. Taxes will be reimposed, we'll be locked down in their catastrophic ID system and we'll be fined out of existence.