No short term fix

Cutting taxes is a main pre-occupation, - for voters and for politicians.

But there is little that Cameron & Co can do on this immediately, even if they were in power.

There are enormous savings that could be made - see yesterday's blog about quangos, and look at the recent publication by David Craig, - "Squandered", and there is much fat which could be removed without reducing the quality of public services. The services of over-paid consultants costing many millions of pounds a year, many reviews when Brown is in a fix, junketing around the world and hordes of spin doctors are areas where enormous savings could be made.

These savings will take time, however, and will not help before the General Election. There really is no silver bullet. Brown partially but not entirely revised his "10p cut" by paying for one year by borrowing. But the Public Finances are in such a shocking state that massive extra borrowing is not a solution. By very creative accounting he avoided Government new debt as a percentage of CDP breaching his 40% limit. In reality he has, of course, and we have the largest fiscal deficit in Europe.

What about reducing prices? There is no solution here either, if he were to subsidise this would have to be by borrowing still more or by raising some tax. He could cut taxes on fuel and oil, but how would he make good the loss of revenue except by borrowing?

He cannot, Canute-like, forcibly reduce international prices. These are set by world demand and supply. His suggestion that he will ask international organisations to act cuts little ice. Nor could he cut Council Taxes as they grow because of all the functions he has heaped upon councils.

He is being at his usual deceitfulness when after Crew and Nantwich he promised to review how he could cut taxes, reduce prices or ease the burden on the lower paid. He knows, Cameron & Co know and we know that there is no easy fix, or it would have been produced long since.