War of numbers
Despite the politicians’ desire to avoid the question, the campaign has touched on what should be a central issue of the election—the size of the state
OLIVER LETWIN, the brainy and engaging Conservative Party spokesman on public spending, inadvertently breathed some life into the election campaign this week. After apparently talking up the prospect of Tory tax cuts from the £8 billion carefully set out in the manifesto to £20 billion, he then became uncharacteristically incommunicado. Gordon Brown made the most of the gaffe by brandishing a “wanted” poster for Mr Letwin—whose effect was dampened by a reference to his “wherabouts” [sic].
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “War of numbers”
From the May 19th 2001 edition
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