We told you so II

It turns out our joke fag packet couldn’t have been more accurate.

Today we have discovered that Ken Clarke has yet again been critical of one of David Cameron’s flagship policies, condemning his commitment to give tax breaks to married couples:

“I got rid of the married couples allowance [when I was Chancellor]… I really don’t think it’s anything to do with politicians whether you [get married] and most of the younger people I know don’t seem very keen on it. My view of Conservatism is that it’s not for us to tell you [what to do through] the tax system – my wife didn’t put up with me because I was getting £150 by way of tax allowance. This is social engineering for God’s sake and when I joined the party we weren’t in favour of it.”

Ken Clarke, Nottingham University, December 2008 – Reported on www.publicservice.co.uk, 27 January 2009

James Purnell MP rightly throws down the gauntlet, saying: “George Osborne and David Cameron should take Ken Clarke’s advice and ditch their unfair and unfunded marriage tax plans.”