 Labour
and Gordon Brown are in deep trouble. Will their unfair, and
ill-judged, so-called ‘Green’ taxes prove to be their Poll Tax moment?
Retrospective
increases in vehicle excise duty back-dated to 2001, the extremely
ill-timed increase in fuel duty, which has already had to be postponed
once, and a whole range of extra costs imposed on people in the name of
‘Green’ trumpery all tend to be retrogressive, in that they affect the
poorer in society disproportionately, and damage those jobs occupied by
the working class, as with the desperate haulage industry, which is
today protesting in Wales and London [see: ‘Lorry driver protest brings London to a halt’, The Daily Telegraph, May 27; ‘ Lorry fuel tax protest hits roads’, BBC Online UK News, May 27]. All this is what stuck in the craw of voters in Crewe and Nantwich. It is not the core voice of true Labour, as Jon Cruddas, the modernising centre-left Labour MP for Dagenham, explains so well today [‘We’re talking a language that’s failing to resonate’, The Independent, May 27]:
“In
2008, voters still want Labour to be bold in addressing their
day-to-day material concerns. People do not understand our apparent
timidity over issues that cut across all social classes: like fairer
taxes, social immobility, debt, insecurity at work, or housing. And
they often fail to understand even the good things the Government has
done, because our political language does not resonate. We do not speak about what this distinct Labour government is for.
The
nature of the material insecurities that people face has changed since
1997. The fundamental need for a fairer society hasn’t. What we need to
do now is regain our confidence in the bold measures we can deploy to
make Britain fairer.”
Left And Tax-Cutting
The theme is also taken up by Denis MacShane, the Labour MP for Rotherham, and a former Minister of State for Europe [‘The answer’s obvious: cut taxes and spending’, The Daily Telegraph, May 27]:
“Can
the Left be tax-cutters? Why not? The Attlee government cut income tax
levels by 20 per cent (admittedly from high wartime levels). In 1960 a
worker on average unskilled manual earnings paid only eight per cent of
his income in tax. By 1970 that had risen to 20 per cent, and it has
stayed high ever since. Labour should seek to help its own natural
constituency by allowing more money to stay in people’s pockets. Modern
socialists should worship neither the state nor the market - the
individual human being should be at the centre of our concerns.
Granting more autonomy and control over individual lives is best done
by providing the material means to achieve this emancipation.
And
how can tax cuts be funded? By cutting spending. Take Labour-run Bolton
Council. It decided on a zero council tax rise this year and was
rewarded, rightly so, at the ballot box.”
Petrol-Pump Politics
So
Labour has a lorry-load* of thinking to do. Interestingly, the French
President, Nicolas Sarkozy, has already demonstrated far more nimble
political footwork, suggesting that the EU should consider capping
value added tax (VAT) on fuel to help countries to deal with surging
oil prices [‘Sarkozy suggests cap on fuel tax’, BBC Online Europe News, May 27].
By
contrast, if Gordon Brown and Labour persist in imposing unfair tax and
cost burdens on their central constituency in the name of wishy-washy,
metro, middle class ‘greenery’, they will be doomed at the ballot box,
and, far more seriously, they could well damage Britain’s economy into
the bargain.
Although
it will be a long haul, I think this is the beginning of the end for
self-indulgent, ‘Green’ politics, and the sooner MPs grasp this, the
better for everyone [see: ‘Let’s Bury These Bonkers MPs’, May 26]
We
are back to the forecourt of petrol-pump politics. Just look at the UK
petrol prices for Monday, 26th May, 2008, according to PetrolPrices.com:
Unleaded:Avg: 115.0p; Min: 109.9p; Max: 126.9p.
Diesel:Avg: 127.9p; Min.:120.9p; Max: 140.9p.
Then
think about the impact of these prices on haulage costs, on food costs,
on transport costs, and on the young, single mum with two children at
different schools, and with two tough jobs, simply to make ends meet.
Gordon and Dave, I’m with the hauliers: “What do we want? No more unfair taxes! When do we want it? NOW!”
“Poop! Poop!”
___________
*’Truck-load’ for our friends across the pond. Source
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