What's the story, mourning tory

I originally became a Tory because I believed their core principals - laissez faire economics, small government, lower taxes, let the market sort itself out, etc. etc.

It was with a stunned and dropped jaw that I was reading the Times today where the Tories, under David Cameron, want to impose more legislation and taxes onto shops and stores, infringing on their core beliefs all the way to the bank.

"Firmly committing the Conservatives to raising taxes..."

The first headline grabber was the imposition and creation of a car park tax for large out of town supermarkets. Tories and tax creation do not go hand in hand - EVER! Then there was public scolding of shops like Tesco selling goods below cost. If they're taking a drink every time they sell a product, that's their bottom line and their problem.

I know it impacts on the little guy and his ability to shift product, but the more specialised shops will always come out trumps over the shop that has a spotty 16-year old as the most knowledgeable person in the place.

Having said that, society today doesn't cater much for the person who can't buy all their needs at one shop. We don't have time to go to the bakery for our bread, the butcher for our meat, the green grocer for our veg. Those of us who strive to get home to our families before 8pm are already having a hard enough time of it.

"The Tories are at sixes and sevens on tax."

We've suffered years of Labour's regime, promising us a better place, yet raising taxes each and every year (with not a lot to show - better hospitals, lower crime, better road conditions? Nope).

The only light at the end of the tunnel has been the intrinsic Tory policies. Sadly, with Labour shifting more to the right, it looks like the Tories have shifted a bit too far to the left.

Times Link

October means jack the prices up!

I was out and about yesterday - as were most people - and my favourite coffee shack, Caffe Nero, decided to use October to jack their prices up. This was at first quite jarring, even though it amounts to only 10p per cup of their hot brown loving.

They've had the lowest prices on the high street for some time and any increase was seen as an affront to this secret pact we had - I'd patronise them and they'd stay relatively low priced. Of coures, I felt betrayed, but soldiered on.

At lunch time, I mosied to Tesco to get a sarnie and a ludicrously low-priced bottle of Pepsi Max (41p). True to form, Tesco had decided to use October to jack their Pepsi Max price up to 45p.

Now I realise to combined outlay of these two products amounts to roughly 14p, but I find it quite interesting that both items have been low priced for ages and then - in some sort of odd synergistic twist - are both increased in price on the same day.

I think the cosmos is slowly conspiring against me.