Sunday, April 20, 2008

10p tax rate abolition: Will it be Gordon Brown's last stand?

Many people commented on the abolition of the 10 tax rate when it wasn't announced by Gordon Brown last year, but was hidden in the budget detail.

Many, including me, thought it was a case of robbing the poor to pay the rich. We still do. The finance bill which contained it passed without much revolt at the time because Labour MP's either were too scared of their soon to be new Supreme Leader or because they thought they could get away with it.

Well, the truth is coming home to roost now. That cut is unpopular. No one bar the most sycophantic minister will appear to defend it. The wagons are circled around Downing Street. There will be no giving in apparently.

The only problem is that up to 75 Labour MP's have smelt the coffee, and will rebel when an amendment is voted on for this years finance bill.

We have to be clear on this. It would be a huge smack in the face of this government and Gordon Brown in particular to lose a vote on a finance bill. It is the sort of thing you expect to bring down governments.

So if Gordon loses, will he call a general election or try hand over to Ed Balls who will guarantee a Conservative victory of massive proportions?

Who knows. I would not want to be in Labour now though.

The BBC has this.

3 comments:

Clunking Fist said...

He needs cash so much, he'll take it from the low paid. What a C**t.

CFD Ed said...

Gordon still hasn’t really been found out.

Look at it in the light of New-Labour’s target of cutting child poverty by half by 2010 and how it is likely to improve their chances of doing so, when they were previously unlikely to be able to meet that target.

Anonymous said...

It looks like someone earning £7,665 is going to be the worst off, according to:

http://www.thebusinesslounge.co.uk/index.php/10-tax-rate/