A blog by Luke Akehurst about politics, elections, and the Labour Party - With subtitles for the Hard of Left. Just for the record: all the views expressed here are entirely personal and do not necessarily represent the positions of any organisations I am a member of.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

The Tory VAT bombshell

As warned about just two months ago by the people who then built the government which dropped it:

6 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Given that Darling also didn't rule out VAT increases, one can't help but suspect he would have done the same, had Labour won.

Today's Budget is Brown's most significant legacy. Where is he, by the way.

4:39 pm, June 22, 2010

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The Lib Dems are junior partners in the National Coalition Government so of course their position changes on somethings. That is gwrown up, non Mandelsonian politics.

At least growth is fostered by reducing corporation tax and the NI tax holiday for small firms.

At least pensions are linked to wages (Labour talked but never did this), at least people on the minimum wage will not pay income tax in 2014 with the increased personal allowance.

Britain is on a sustainable financial path.

before you complain too much Labour in their March budget siad they would cut spending by 44 billion but would not specify until after the election. So they would cut.

4:44 pm, June 22, 2010

 
Blogger Merseymike said...

The LibDems have entirely capitulated to their Tory masters - but that really doesn't surprise me at all. At least there will be clear differences between their solutions and ours

5:23 pm, June 22, 2010

 
Anonymous Arnold said...

Never mind where Brown is, this is a shameful day for Britain. This was not so much a Budget as a 'Bodge it'! Typical Tory tactics to get in and then blame its mistakes on the last Labour government. Can you please come up with something original?

5:44 pm, June 22, 2010

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Part of the problem here is that before the election Chancellor Darling promised cuts in public spending deeper than those under Margaret Thatcher. However, he refused to say what they might be.

Two very obvious candidates should have been ID cards and Trident replacement. In April 2009, a number of newspapers reported that
arch-Blairite Stephen Byers had advocated this very course.

Labour could have presented this as an example of fiscal responsibility and a willingness to listen to progressive voters.
Sadly, it did not act on this sound advice.

N.B. This is likely to be the only time I will praise Stephen Byers.
So make the most of it!

6:09 pm, June 22, 2010

 
Anonymous Linda said...

To be fair Clegg doesn't look too worried about it. Kennedy though.....

3:29 pm, June 23, 2010

 

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