The Conservatives' Tweedledum and Tweedledee want to up taxes . . . on Tory voters!

LET'S start with one unassailable truism  . . .  David Cameron and George Osborne are minted.

Which means that should the Tories win the next election, neither Prime Minister Cameron nor Chancellor Osborne will bat an eyelid at extra charges put on to their air fares.

But their consultation document today brought the wrath of Middle England down on the Conservatives as this Looking Glass pair tried to sell a policy which will tax frequent business flyers and Brits who take three or four overeas holidays a year.

Industrialists and foreign air voyagers may no longer be counted as safe bets to vote Conservatives. But you won't find many Tories loading up the family into P reg Fiestas, packing their anoraks and shell suits into the boot, and heading for Mrs Miggins' boarding house - no butter on weekdays, dear, you'll have to have marge - on Blackpool prom for a week of delights on the wet Golden Mile.

Airlines have slammed the Tory proposals to up aviation taxes. Labour warns that planes will fill up overseas and not use British aviation fuel. And holiday makers are furious at yet another stealth tax just so the Conservatives can capture the green vote.

Stealth taxes . . . what a lark. It's the Tories who also accuse Gordon Brown of stealth taxation, and here we have our minted duo having the nerve to propose them themsleves.

The proposals include levying VAT or fuel duty on domestic flights and a green air miles scheme.

Mr Osborne said the taxes would be targeted at frequent fliers and not family holidays.

Another measure under consideration in the Greener Skies consultation paper is scrapping air passenger duty and replacing it with a new "per flight" tax based on carbon emissions.

The party published the document today and will ask people for their views on various proposals. Mr Osborne said: "We're saying that taxes on aviation need to increase."

Everyone wants to do something about climate change. Airlines are notorious carbon emitters. But unles the UK's average voter really is green, this document could be labelled: How to lose an election without really trying.