Tax on tax on tax.

I've been trying to remember when it was that I concluded Clegg was an idiot. I think it was when I first saw him. Since then, he has taken great strides in proving my initial assessment to be entirely correct, if perhaps something of an understatement.

I have since formed the opinion that the reason he is leader of the Lib Dems is that he is actually the least stupid member of that party. Also, I am convinced that the entire party hates being in power so much that they are determined to ensure they never receive another vote again. I wouldn't vote for them if they were the only ones on the ballot paper.

Pub Curmudgeon spotted the latest lunatic babblings of the Lib Dems. When you buy any form of booze, you pay duty on it. A lot of duty. On the price plus duty, you pay VAT so you pay VAT on the duty too - tax levied on tax. The Lunatic Dims propose adding a new tax onto that total price - tax on the tax on the tax - and the only reason I can find behind this proposal is that they are all certifiably insane.

Smuggling cigarettes is difficult. Counterfeiting cigarettes is difficult. It happens anyway. Booze? You can make it in your shed. Criminals will have no trouble producing dodgy booze and they won't bother distilling it. As in Prohibition days, they'll water down industrial alcohol and sell it as gin. Beer is crushingly easy when you're not bothering with all the regulation and quality control stuff the genuine brewers have to deal with.

Normally you wouldn't touch the dodgy stuff with a bargepole but when the good stuff is priced out of range, well...

Unlike legitimate brewers and distillers, criminals don't care who they sell it to. They aren't going to ask for ID. The higher the tax, the more attractive the product becomes for criminal enterprise. It's not a new idea, it's a tried, tested and long-proven fact.

But Nick Clegg is expected to demand some tax changes as the Coalition begins planning for the second half of this parliament.

Why? Why does he want more money from us? Isn't the bastard rich enough on our money yet? Isn't he happy with canteens and restaurants and bars we're subsidising? What does he need expenses for now? Just how greedy can one man get? Is he jealous of Mandelstein or something?

Earlier this year the Lib Dem leader suggested councils should be allowed to raise taxes on everything from fuel and office parking to landfill and speeding.

That must, MUST be made very clear at the next election. This is what the Lib Dems want. All your money. All of it. All your freedoms, all your possessions, all your thoughts. There is absolutely nothing liberal nor democratic about this bunch. They are, as they prove over and over again, utterly worthless as a party, as representatives, as human beings.

As for the Tories, well, they are still wearing those blinkers that say 'Pubs are closing becasue of supermarket prices. Nothing at all to do with the smoking ban.'

We'd be better off if we made Downs syndrome a requirement for anyone standing as an MP.

It couldn't be worse.