The post you are reporting:
Howard - Indeed the public sector pension bill must be trimmed, the gold plated final salary schemes need to be dropped as has happened in the private sector and money purchase adopted instead. They are unaffordable. They will have to be addressed regardless of who is elected. the trick is in how reform is done for which there are a range of options. I could go on and get very technical over this as it is a specific area of my professional expertese but I will resist it.
As for VAT - no you dont know and should not believe the desperate black propaganda being spouted. For the Conservatives it is spending that must take the strain and tax rises being only the last option when all possible cuts have been exhausted. Right now the only tax rises they expect are some of those already in the pipeline from Labour. No prospective Chancellor will ever rule out any tax rises, as MacMillan said, events dear boy... The LibDems who are making silly VAT claims will not themselves rule out VAT rises incidentally. One thing I am sure of, the Conservatives are the ones least likely to raise taxes and, if they had to do so, will increase them the least. The Conservative Party is fundamentally against high taxes and would bring them down if and whenever possible.
Incidentally - 'no plans for..... is not a ruling out....'
Sadly forms of words can be important.
The best way to view this, particularly in an economic situation as serious as we have, is simply to judge based on experience. Labour are addicted to higher taxation, often by stealth, and are firm believers in high public spending and big government.
The LibDems will say anything and often different thing to different audiences, after all they will not have the responsibility of enacting a manifesto.
The Conservatives fundamentally believe in small government and that means lower taxes.