I hope we're not claiming too much

There is little doubt that if the Conservatives had won an absolute majority in 2010, the 50p tax rate for higher-earners would have been scrapped, as Peter Black points out. It has also been suggested in various quarters that George Osborne is seriously considering a property tax which would be less easy to avoid than taxes on income. So one hopes that Nick Clegg is pushing at an open door when he proclaims that he is still fighting within the coalition for a "mansion tax", even if the qualifying value is higher than the £1m which we once favoured.