People often tell opinion polls that ‘The Conservatives are the party of the rich’, and this worries party managers, because the rich are, almost by definition, few, and the voters are many. But would it actually be better, electorally, if people thought ‘The Conservatives are the party of the poor’, or even, which is often thought to be the best, ‘The Conservatives are the party of people like me’? Isn’t it a significant part of the Tories’ appeal that they carry the subliminal suggestion that, if you vote for them, you might get richer?
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For this reason, among others, the Conservatives need to be careful about excoriating tax avoidance. Of course people will agree when you say how disgraceful it is that the super-rich can get round taxes, but one should bear in mind that the rest of us resent such avoidance not because we are in favour of paying high taxes but because we wish we could get round them too.
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