Taxing Cameroon consistency

James is right that the Tories are not ‘lurching to the Right’. There’s nothing intrinsically ‘rightwing’ about examining the case for tax cuts: if there were, why would Gordon Brown have been so keen to present his final Budget as a ‘tax-cutting’ package? No, the real problem is one of consistency. If the Tories are serious about abolishing death duties – and I do hope they are – how do they square that enthusiasm with their absolute commitment not to make upfront promises of tax cuts, a pledge most forcefully delivered in George Osborne’s conference speech last year? That pledge is symbolic of the moderniser’s creed: economic stability first, no matter what. Can the circle be squared? Thoughts, please.