Lib Dem Voice point to a Liverpool Daily Post story about a Tory PPB.
A SOUTHPORT builder who was tagged the Tories’ version of “Joe the Plumber†was last night at the centre of a major political row.
Shane Prescott starred in the Conservative party broadcast on Thursday, claiming his business had struggled because of the recession.
But Companies House records show the 51-year-old father-of-four’s loft conversion firm actually went into liquidation at the height of the boom in 2006.
Prescott’s response:
“The Company went into Voluntary Liquidation two years ago, as it was trading from an insolvent position, this fact was disclosed prior to broadcast, and was felt to be totally non-relevant to the issues addressed within the interview.”
Totally non-relevant? The fact that the company had financial difficulties at the height of the building boom?
What is extraordinary is this attempt to recreate a “Joe the Plumber” UK despite the fact that it brought John McCain mixed success at best. But the finest example of Tory flummery for me was their boast that, as an alternative to the VAT reduction, they will allow businesses to defer their VAT payments for six months. Surely their whole argument against tax cuts has been that they aren’t real cuts but a payment deferral? Is something magic expected to happen over the next six months that will suddenly make the economy booming again? If Cameron and Osborne know something (perhaps they have a mole in the Treasury), they really should share; the stockmarket could do with knowing. It isn’t as if they aren’t quick to shout about the bad news.
You won’t find either Cameron or Shane Prescott utter a single word of criticism of the bankers that got us into this mess. Fortunately, Nick Clegg has somewhat better critical faculties: