Labour in socialist policy shock!

In a shock move a Government Minister has called for the reintroduction of redistibutionist taxation policies.

The Health Minister, Ivan Lewis, (who he? I hear you call. He has risen without trace to have all the profile of a sheet of A4 side on) has laid out his view on how the Labour Party can try to avoid a complete rout at the next election.

In a radical change of heart, he suggests that cosying up to the ultra-rich and giving millionaires tax breaks might just not be in accordance with the core values of the party.

In a densely written and sometimes impenetrable article he lays out his views without committing the sin of actually committing himself to anything or any view. Whilst this weaseling about may be good for his career prospects in the medium term, the lack of any decisiveness shows exactly what is going wrong with the Labour Party.

I am not advocating specific measures - those are decisions for the chancellor and prime minister. A windfall tax, enhanced government support for mortgages, a stamp duty holiday and higher taxes for the highest earners may be necessary and popular.

So increased taxes on the wealthiest might be good. Dear God, has this man no understanding of the people he is supposed to be representing?

Obviously not, as the poor, infirm and elderly are not the key group he sees as benefiting from this additional tax yield.

Yes, protect those on the lowest incomes but also help the hard-working middle classes with large mortgage commitments who are neither rich nor poor; the people who work long hours for their two holidays a year, leisure club membership, meals out with family and friends and ability to buy their children nice things;

Is this a joke? Is he taking the piss in the form of a supposedly serious article? Do the first letters of every sentence spell "I-A-M-H-A-V-I-N-G-A-L-A-U-G-H"? No, this man is deadly serious.

Yet, he advocates this policy as being a short-term or temporary matter to see the economy through a difficult patch (which is code for The Next Election, not the credit crunch), not as a long term policy to be implemented to ensure that the less well off are protected.

Such is the paucity of intellectual thought in the Labour Party, and yet another reason why they deserve to lose the next election, and lose it badly. Then cull the numpties and find the party's soul.