This is just normal politics

This is nothing unusual, been happening for generations:

Andy Burnham’s government has been accused of waging a £500m “class war” on councils.

Conservatives and Liberal Democrats say ministers are deliberately cutting funding from affluent rural councils to bankroll urban Labour Party strongholds.

An analysis by The Telegraph shows that Tory and Lib Dem-dominated councils in England will receive a £487m cut in government-controlled grants and funding during this parliament.

Labour councils, by contrast, will enjoy a £1.6bn funding increase.

The cuts are so deep that some town halls have warned they would be forced to impose dramatic increases in council tax to make up the shortfall.

One lot gets in and the central government funding settlements favour the areas that support the one lot who just got in. Blairism hauled money off the - supposedly richer - rural and Conservative areas and gave it to the urban - supposedly poorer - Labour supporting areas. The coalition reversed as much of this as they dared. We’re now running back the other way.

One view of this is that this is what should happen in a democracy. An election is, after all the public auction of stolen goods and elections should have consequences. Those who won get to take all the money off those who lost.

Another view of this is that as this is what does happen with democracy then perhaps those swings and roundabouts of politics are not, in fact, the way to run the economy. Which is, we agree, something that can be viewed as a bit anti-democratic but then if the system really is just that auction of stolen goods then perhaps anti- is the correct stance.

Our point here is only that this is entirely normal. The new government takes all the money off those who support the other lot and gives it to their own supporters. That’s just fact - views about it are up to those with views about it.

Tim Worstall