Cameron has another "moment"

I am starting to strongly believe that Cameron's leadership is marked by a number of significant moments - things that define him to the general public and, so far anyway, they are greeted with opinion poll bounces. The Inheritance Tax announcement was one such "moment", as was his 07 conference speech (the one without notes). Today, although events elsewhere mean it won't get as much attention, we may have seen another moment - on tax on savings.

Savers have been affected by the necessary reductions in interest rates whilst pensioners have suffered from a decade of Gordon Brown's tax raids. They are currently being championed by, amongst others, the Daily Telegraphy who should warmly welcome Cameron's pledges.

As well as supporting pensioners and savers during this turbulent time of financial turmoil, the Conservatives will take further economic measures to help the victims of Gordon Brown's recession.

The Conservatives' proposals include improving the flow of credit and saving jobs with a £50 billion National Loan Guarantee Scheme, freezing council tax for two years by cutting wasteful government spending, encouraging companies to hire again through a tax break for new jobs, reducing employment costs for small businesses by cutting National Insurance and helping them with cashflow by delaying VAT bills for six months.

Labour's tax and debt bombshells are taking Britain to the brink of bankruptcy. Their answer to the debt crisis is yet more borrowing. It is clear that the longer Labour is in power, the worse the economic situation will become.

Only the Conservatives can make the long-term decisions to get the public finances back under control with the proposed National Loan Guarantee Scheme and an Office for Budget Responsibility which would ensure that no Labour Government could bankrupt the country again.

It's a good plan and Cameron has announced it well.

We'll see how significant a "moment" it is and largely that will depend on the media coverage.

Bi-partisanship is a brilliant partisan idea

A great line from Danny Finklestein on Newsnight tonight to suggest that the Tory plan to back the government is a political ploy. Well, at least the Conservatives have a ploy and are sticking to it. Yesterday LibDem Vince Cable issued a damning press release attacking both the Tories and Labour; but within hours had changed his story and said all parties need to work together. Come on, Cable - you're the great white hope when Clegg gets slaughtered at the next election. Tut, tut. Must do better.

Vince Cable: "Barking Mad" ideas

Some of us believe that the legend of Vince Cable is, well, just that - a legend. He had a couple of good PMQs and made a reasonable stand-in leader and now most LibDems and a few commentators brand him as the greatest leader they've never had. Now Clegg, rather than being undermined by his more popular colleague, basks in his so-called glory. He claims that Cable forsaw all of this happening. That is, of course, true - he did - but so did a wide variety of financial leaders and a lot of experts including those in other parties. Cable has a good grasp of his portfolio but his ideas to save the nation are hardly rigerous and totally untested. In fact, you might go so far as to say some of them are "barking mad".

Not my words - the words of Cllr Richard Kemp, Leader of the LibDems in the LGA when describing Cable's policy of forcing £100k Chief Execs and the like to reapply for their jobs and accept pay cuts. He also says this idea is "probably illegal" too. At last; somebody willing to take on some of the loonier ideas coming out of the new serious LibDems.

Cable got the headlines, but clearly Kemp got the headache.