A gift is not what it might seem

The revelation that business leaders are against the SNPs Local income tax, (LIT), proposals might at first appear to be music to Labour ear but we need to be careful here. Implementing the LIT is never the issue. Being seen to be fair and equitable is. That's why the SNPs council tax freeze was so effective. It does not make fiscal sense because it removes £240m out of public services but it does make political sense because people feel, for good or for ill, unfairly treated by the Council tax. They do not have to implement the LIT, which on all figures show that it would produce at least £400m less tax take than at present. They only have to be seen to try, because what they want to be seen as is fighting unfairness. Another barrier, like business objections, will help them seem even more on the side of the little guy, without having to go through the hassle of implementing a policy they know is deeply flawed,

Gift horse, false dawn, call it what you will, but this attack on LIT might well have the effect of stopping the change but helping the SNP to achieve a greater goal of more support eventually, for independence. Labour tactics need to move from the difficult ground of who might win or loose from LIT to focusing on the "broken promise" of LIT and the really dangerous thing of Independence where our struggles to survive would be only just beginning.