IoD Annual Convention 2010 - The Politics

Yesterday I attended the IoD Annual Convention for the first time.

What a great day, stunning venue and fantastic line-up of speakers.

Due to great timing the 3 main parties were keen to have their voice at the conference so we were treating to 3 of the leading members of each.

Here's my own very quick summary of how they did;

Vince Cable (Lib Dems)

Seems a nice guy, I couldn't help but get the impression that he was out of his depth and knew it. He really said nothing that inspired me.

His plan to raise capital gains tax to the level of income tax is poorly considered and would lead to more people locating overseas, thus reducing the overall tax revenue.

He did promise to be tough and not "pull any punches" over decisions that need to be made. Well, yes, I'd expect that from any chancellor.

George Osborne (Conservatives)

Very polished performance, seemed at ease and comfortable in the surroundings.

I liked his stance on the source of job creation - the state can no longer do this, the private sector needs to take over.

Lord Mandelson (Labour)

Another polished performance, he's a very good speaker indeed. Liked a lot of what he said, but his insistance that the NI rise is necessary to reduce debt is a bad argument.

Debt should be reduced by reducing public spending, not increasing tax.

In terms of delivery Mandelson was the most impressive. In terms of content, Osborne.