Letter to The Daily Telegraph

Tory strategy on reducing tax and public spending

Francis Bennion

The Daily Telegraph, 21 Mar 2008

Doc. No. 2008.005

Sir,

[Janet Daley (article, 17 March 2008) is right. Instead of reproducing John Smith’s fatal “shadow budget” of 1992, the Conservatives should learn the lesson indicated by Philip Johnstone’s article (also 17 March 2008).] Between now and the next election the Conservatives should examine in depth a number of Labour’s heads of actual or planned public expenditure.

With each scheme, they should show just how wasteful, misguided, and otherwise useless it is, and lay out a detailed less-expensive alternative [(if any alternative is needed)]. [That way they could prove at the election how they can reduce public expenditure and taxation without reducing needed services.]

Francis Bennion

Budleigh Salterton, Devon

[Published in The Daily Telegraph, 21 March 2008. The material in square brackets was omitted in the published letter.]