Tax and welfare
Sir: Auberon Waugh may be right to hope that the Tories win the next general elec- tion (Another voice, 12 October). The arguments for a Labour victory which I advanced in the Sunday Telegraph (6 Octo- ber) — that to conserve the two-party sys- tem, one has to let the other side win occa- sionally, and that the Government's mediocre record since 1987 suggests minis- ters are exhausted — may well be out- weighed by Labour's tax proposals.
Labour might make a mess of plenty of other things too. I am not one of those who believe that Neil Kinnock would make the trains run on time. But at least the Conser- vatives would be released from their pre- sent obligation to pretend that all is for the best in our European diplomacy, our Wel- fare State etc.
By restoring financial discipline, Mar- garet Thatcher saved the Welfare State. Only after a period of Labour government is it likely that the atrocious shortcomings of the welfare system, its capacity to absorb more and more money while reducing peo- ple to a condition of resentful dependence, will be widely admitted. Then the Conser- vatives might work out what to do about it. Andrew Gimson
16 St George's Drive London SW1
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