17 March 2008

Tories: Taxes Up Or Down?

This question is actually less important than you might think. The main problem with Tory governments is not where they leave the overall tax burden (largely unchanged), but how they gleefully move the tax burden from the richest to the poorest and spend less on things the poorest need - the NHS, education and public transport and spend more on things like, arms production, police salaries, building more roads and rising unemployment.

The Tories now boast of...
how Thatcher INCREASED overall taxation in her first term (doubled VAT), and even after 11 years of Thatcherism, the tax burden was still higher than today.

When you think of the devastation the Tories wreaked on public services in this time, it makes their current claim of Labour's 'misspent millions' seem laughable. It certainly pours scorn on their claim that the Tories will spend our taxes more efficiently.

All oppositions claim to be more efficient - it means nothing and is not a reason to vote for them. The evidence of Cameron's competence actually looks very weak indeed (when you examine his brief career at Carlton TV- where he lost them millions and his advisor role to Norman Lamont during Black Wednesday), I actually suspect the Tories will be more wasteful of public money than Labour.

And the evidence of two deep Tory recessions still looms over any claims they make on running the economy. The Tories must also be the first to be mired in sleaze even while in opposition (Derek Conway, Andrew Pelling, Conrad Black, Nigel Hastilow, Bob Spink, et al ) - it hardly bodes well for them in government. Whether you believe Cameron has changed from his hatred of gays, the poor and the minimum wage or not, it is Tories like these who do still have these medieval views who will be in government if they win.

If you want even more cars on even more roads, if you want nurses and teachers salaries cut, longer waiting lists and more sink schools, an eroded minimum wage and more unemployment, more social disorder and inequality, then the Tories are the party you should vote for, otherwise best to vote Labour.

5 comments:

  1. Neil you make good points about Tory tax - revisionists keep claiming there were lower taxes in the Thatcher paradise - going further back I've heard many many times now that the three day week happened under Labour (it didn't as I'm sure you know). Where I take issue is the idea that there's much to choose between the two parties. Labour followed the plans left on John Major's desk, so they can't have been all that opposed to them.

    The most recent budget increased taxes on both income and expenditure for people earning less than 15K - what the hell kind of an attitude towards people who are working but not well paid does that show?

    What we can observe from this is that both Labour and the Tories will try to frame economic and social policy to appeal to the areas of the electorate they think they need to in order to gain or retain power and screw anyone else.

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  2. Labour have been disappointing, the Tories would be horrific. That is quite a difference.

    Labour only stuck to Major's spending plans for 2 years, then they opened the taps. Do you really believe the extra billions on health, education, public transport and infrastructure would have happened under the Tories? The minimum wage, equalities legislation, tax credits, the new deal, the smoking ban, social chapter, freedom of information, PR elected devolution, human rights act, party funding transparency etc etc? That adds up to quite a difference.

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  3. Labour have been disappointing, the Tories would be horrific. That is quite a difference

    I disagree. I think they are much of a muchness. That means that my decision how to vote can be determined by other considerations, which in my case would be civil liberties. Labour consider that, in the immortal words of David Blunkett, civil liberties are for 'airy fairy libertarians'. At least the Tories understand the problem. They may still fall short in office but at least they don't arrogantly assume that there isn't a problem at all.

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  4. This would be the same Blunkett who makes cash from his involvement in a Biometrics Company but sees no need to mention it when pushing biomteric technology as a magical solution to everything despite being too thick to understand why it isn't.

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  5. This would be the same Blunkett who makes cash from his involvement in a Biometrics Company but sees no need to mention it when pushing biomteric technology as a magical solution to everything despite being too thick to understand why it isn't

    It would also be the same Blunkett who advocated a terrorist attack be made on the Al Jeezera TV station. The same Blunkett who leaked details of his affair to the newspapers to put pressure on his paramour. The same Blunkett who has had to resign twice for improper conduct. makes John Major's administration seem clean by comparison.

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