Lord Forsyth

It's good to see that former Scottish Secretary Lord Forsyth's radical edge remains undiminished, and this time it's causing problems for David Cameron. The BBC reports today that the outcome of the Tax Commission chaired by Forsyth won't exactly chime with the Tory leader's steady-as-she-goes approach to tax policy. You can read the BBC report here, while this week's Spectator has a fuller account which suggests that details of the report were deliberately leaked.

As an evangelical Thatcherite it should come as no surprise that Forsyth's instinct is to cut taxes. However, he was appointed as chair of the tax commission by George Osbourne when Michael Howard was leader, so Cameron inherited him from the previous regime.