Is another Darling U-turn on the cards?
Peter Hoskin 12:21pm
Today's Standard reports that Alistair Darling is set to back down over his plans to increase vehicle excise duty. It's hardly surprising. The proposal was always likely to prompt a backbench rebellion as well as public outcry - two things that the Brown Government can ill afford, particularly at the moment.
I imagine that No.s 10 and 11 will try and spin any concessions as a "recognition that British people need supporting in the current economic climate". But if the 10p tax fiasco taught us anything, it's that voters rightly remember who to blame for the original proposal rather than who to "thank" for the U-turn. Labour certainly shouldn't expect a post-back down poll boost.
And then there's the question of what it means for the public finances. HMT will have factored the VED rises into their future plans, and any concessions will lower the amount available in the Exchequer's coffers. Can we expect tax rises elsewhere to make up the shortfall? Or perhaps even more borrowing? All will be revealed in the Pre-Budget Report in a few weeks' time.
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Alex R
September 24th, 2008 1:11pm Report this commentWorth remembering that a million people are still to be compenstated for the abolition of the 10p tax band and for those who benefited from the compensation package will only do so for one year. People do remember this.
alastair
September 24th, 2008 1:12pm Report this commentMore borrowing almost certainly. After all, it won't by them who needs to sort it out later.
Keith
September 24th, 2008 1:49pm Report this commentSwings and roundabouts..Look out for other tax increases
Tiberius
September 24th, 2008 2:50pm Report this commentWot no bamboo trees?
Seasurfer1
September 24th, 2008 4:02pm Report this commentHe may have to back down on " Whatever it takes". We are in a liquidity and credit crunch crisis,if he is not aware . There is little money to BORROW!
There is always the printing press of course.
salieri
September 24th, 2008 7:03pm Report this commentWhat a clever picture.
"Killjoy was here."
Anthony
September 24th, 2008 9:51pm Report this commentIt’s an insult to the intelligence of the tax-paying electorate that the New Labour government even uses the term “green taxes” for this latest debacle. Why didn’t Gordon Brown use his speech to come clean and tell us that we’ve all got to somehow pay for a) the massive increase in welfare benefits payments to teenage single mothers b) the salaries of the 800,000 pointless public-sector jobs he has created and c) the Iraq war d) an explosion in the benefits-supported population through uncontrolled immigration. And then he could ask us; do you want to pay higher income tax or stick with the VED fiddle? If you are in a higher tax bracket, the latter is surely preferable as the former is an indirect tax that poor and modest income families he talked about will have no alternative but to pay. And there’s a big proportion of poor and modest income families in that incredible 9 million that will all have to pay up to £255 more.
Nicholas
September 24th, 2008 11:47pm Report this commentAnthony, all stuff which the Tories should be driving home and aren't. Especially the 800,000 pointless public sector jobs monitoring diversity, arranging victimhood love-ins and other such crap.
The line is quite simple. Does the taxpayer want to continue to fork out 'X' billion a year in trying to control and change the way people think and talk or instead to pay for real investment in real services that benefit real lives?
Tired New Labour's Virtual Progress (you hear about it but you can't see it) and Real Waste vs Conservative's Real Progress and Virtually No Waste.
Come on Dave, time to fix bayonets and get into that bunker while the grenade fragments are still pinging off the walls.
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