Tory tax call offers 'clear blue water'

What Andrew RT Davies has to say about taxes in his speech later is significant even though it's speculative and acknowledged by Welsh Conservative insiders to be as much about political positioning as it is about economics.

They expect opponents to paint them as elitist for saying they'd focus cuts on higher rate tax payers. But Tories point out that people start paying that 40% at just £34,000 and that their coalition colleagues in Westminster are already making moves to ensure the lowest earners pay less or no tax.

Conservatives are unlikely to be in a Welsh Government in the near future and income tax power isn't going to be devolved soon. But, as one insider puts it, this is a 'clear blue water' statement, showing the Welsh Tories' centre-right thinking and sharpening debate about what devolution is for.