Whilst Polly Toynbee may well be right to say that
"the solidity of the policies taking shape is giving Labour a new spring in its
step", but she omits the fact that it is the moderation of the policies which
has lost Labour so many voters, especially to Ukip, predicted in the latest
Ashcroft poll to win two of Labour`s target seats! (Labour`s got its spring back
but what about the swing? 22/07/14) Goodwin and Ford`s research suggests the
defectors to Ukip were not so worried by doubts about Labour`s "fiscal
rectitude" as about policies resembling those of the Tories too much, and some
members of the front bench being too close to the City.(Revolt of the
dispossessed,10/03/14)
This apparent Catch-22 situation is not
insoluble, as there is in Toynbee`s words,"room for manoeuvre"; policies can be
radicalised in some areas without additional cost, as in retaining RBS as a
People`s bank, and a declaration of war on tax avoidance. In its struggle to win
the swing voter`s trust, Miliband could insist that all Labour MPs and
candidates make public their tax details prior to the election, so that the
electorate can be quite clear that there is at least one party willing to
be transparent on this very important, and ethical, issue. Cameron failed to
carry out his promise back in 2012, that the tax details of the leading lights
of the cabinet would go public, and completely avoided answering a question
about it in last week`s PMQs. Could this be the silver bullet Labour
seeks?
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