From Robert Halfon to Mehdi Hasan, calls for the great 10p tax come-back have been bipartisan and longstanding. And the politics of this are even smarter then the economics.
Because, as David Clark notes, Ed’s speech moves Labour policy on from New Labour in ways more substantive then just 10p and mansions.
“Too far, too fast.” “A double dip recession made in Downing St.” “Jobs-and-growth.” EdB’s flat hand gesture.
This has been 2012′s political narrative on the economy. And it is to the remarkable credit of both Ed’s that is.
Come 2015 Labour will need a compelling vision of the state and its role within society and relationship with the economy. Tony Blair was right in ‘A Journey’ when he wrote of how parties can reap political rewards by dominating the policy agenda – even if such policies run into opposition in the short term.