James Forsyth James Forsyth

Tories cock-a-hoop about Lib Dem disarray

Every Tory I have spoken to this week has said the same thing, ‘aren’t the Lib Dems having a terrible time.’ The Tories are particularly happy because they see the Lib Dems’ credibility on economics taking a battering thanks to the total confusion over Cable’s proposed new tax on million-pound homes. They also think that the new Lib Dem policy will hurt the Lib Dems in a lot of the Southern seats the Tories are trying to win—Richmond, Winchester, Meon Valley and Taunton—as well as in three way marginals like Hampstead and Kilburn.  

The other thing that is putting a smile on Tory faces is the Lib Dems downgrading their pledge on tuition fees. David Cameron says that the question about why tuition fees are fair is the one that he finds hardest to answer at Cameron Direct meeting (personally I think the case for tuition fees is fairly straight forward, students will benefit from their university education so it is fairer for them to contribute to the cost of it rather than for it to be funded out of general taxation).

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