Taxing times for Brown
Peter Hoskin 1:59pm
As James said earlier, things aren't looking great for Gordon. And now - as Ben Brogan points out - our Prime Minister's got a revolt on his hands. What makes this one particularly damaging is that it's over matters economic. Says Brogan:
"Bad news for Gordon. At last count 26 of his MPs have signed an EDM calling on Alistair Darling to review the scrapping of the 10p rate of tax ... When Mr Brown was Chancellor the idea of a revolt by Labour MPs on tax was nigh unthinkable. Times have changed."
Previous
Comments
occasional ranter
April 3rd, 2008 2:17pmThis could be a real vote loser for Labour, and I don't think the Tories have been quick enough in picking it up. Politically non-aligned, ordinary low income voters feel they have been treated with contempt by Gordon Brown, that they are paying the price for his boasts of cutting the basic rate of tax. They are angry enough to vote Tory and punish Labour, whatever their politics might be otherwise.
Jessica
April 3rd, 2008 3:19pmTotally endorse what occasional ranter has written, tories are again found wanting when it relates to people on low incomes. Just a thought, maybe its because most in the current tory high command are very rich toffs, this is something that needs to change and fast as it is one of the tories major weak points which Labour have already started to expolit with class warfare rhetoric.
James
April 3rd, 2008 3:56pmIt may indeed be taxing times for Brown as your headline says but why is it Labour backbenchers causing him problems and not the tories.
C Powell
April 3rd, 2008 5:52pmI agree that the Tories should make much more of this. I think it outrageous what Labour have done but the Tories have a credibility problem. What are they going to do to make things better for people on low incomes? The obvious thing to do is to tax them less rather than take their money then recycle it - very inefficiently - via tax credits. But that's not what the Tories are saying, is it. What are they saying? Er...nothing. Time for Dave and George to focus on this: you've got to show those who have to budget, who don't have mounds of spare cash every month or lots of savings that you're on their side.
john problem
April 3rd, 2008 6:16pmAnd I thought an EDM was just a means of getting a free trip (see recent EDM praising Castro). Mayhap, this one will actually have an effect? Are we holding our breath?
Fergus Pickering
April 3rd, 2008 6:33pmOh come on Jessica - there isn't anyone in the House who is affected by the loss of the 10p rate. You have to be earning less than £20,000. The rich toffs thing is rubbish. It affects ME, and Brown can die in a ditch for all I care, but that's another matter.
Robert Williams
April 3rd, 2008 6:55pmKen Clarke on yesterday's Andrew Neil BBC1 show said that the Tories had not made anything of Brown's bizarre move in the past 12 months as they had expected the gaffe to have been corrected before this month (he thought it cheap to correct - Dead wrong - showing that he doesn't grasp the consequences - it needs a £2500 uplift in everyone's personal allowance- or a new kind of personal allowance with a tapered withdrawal.
The matter has also been low key in the media. The vast majority of those affected will probably still be ignorant of the change & the cries could be loud in the next few weeks.
occasional ranter
April 4th, 2008 9:39amCome to think of it, it's another case of Brown's over-cleverness backfiring on him. Those affected will notice it in their pay packets just before they vote in the local elections. Well done Gordon !