My report yesterday on the Chancellor’s Budget omitted to mention what he said at the start of his Commons speech, although lots of other people picked it up. I just did not see at the time that it was relevant. But here is what he said:
“So I start today by remembering the Muslims who died in two world wars in the service of freedom and democracy. We need a memorial to honour them, so following representations from the Rt Hon Member for Bromsgrove and others, I have decided to allocate £1m towards the cost of building one. Whatever your faith or colour or class, this country will never forget the sacrifices made for our future”.
Is this an attempt to pander to the Muslim vote after the success of George Galloway in Rochdale? If so it is particularly misjudged when the Chancellor should have been focussed on economic matters.
Monuments are often paid for by public subscriptions, and not by the Government. Is Jeremy Hunt going to set up a fund and call for donations to this cause? I think he should do so and not expect the public to support a religiously slanted memorial.
Roger Lawson (Twitter: https://twitter.com/RogerWLawson )
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