Just as an addendum to Fraser’s post on the international resistance to Brown’s world-saving act, there’s an intriguing little story in today’s Independent about “Labour backbench unrest” over the fiscal stimulus announced in the PBR. I quote it here in its entirety:
“Frustration is growing among Labour backbenchers over the Government’s rescue plan for the economy. Several MPs believe a VAT cut was the wrong way of spending the bulk of the fiscal stimulus package, and others fear more should have been funded through tax reforms.
‘Going shopping last week I was offered a little over a pound off a £35 item,” the former environment minister Michael Meacher said. “It really isn’t doing anything. It seems obvious that at a time when consumers are already being offered much bigger discounts, the VAT cut will have little effect.’
John Battle, the former energy minister, said: ‘I always favoured injecting cash in at the bottom by boosting benefits.
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