A REVOLTING CREWE...
Crewe is perhaps best know for being the English town which has a formidable railway engineering heritage, and it looks like being the location where the wheels finally come of the NuLabour project when the by-election for the vacant seat formerly held by Gwyneth Dunwoody is held on the 22 May. Crewe is a rock solid Labour stronghold - but all the evidence suggests that the Conservatives will WIN it - so delivering a body blow to Labour.
You can read a report about what is happening amongst the electorate here.
I believe Labour are destined to lose this seat and this will deepen the mutterings about the wisdom of permitting the continuation of the Gordon Brown premiership. But I think that on balance the Party will cling on to poor dour Gordon, convinced that it would be just too risky to change him at this time. Plus there is no-one who offers a better alternative! David Miliband? Puh-lease. Ed Balls? - you have to be joking! Labour are going down in 2010 - just as John Major's wretched Conservatives went down in 1997. There is no escape for them as the Nation turns its back and the final whistle is heard.
David Vance
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On reflection, the Major government were dumped over sleaze.
The economy was in-fact in a good state. It was in such a good state that Nu-Labours new chancellor kept to the old conservative governments spending for 2 years.
However, it did not take the thieving chancellor long to start cutting and taking.
In Brown’s first 2 budgets he started to cut tax relief for home owners and the married couple’s allowance then cranked up the take on road fuel duty and tobacco.
July 1997
1, Mortgage Interest Tax Relief At Source (MIRAS) reduced from 15% to 10%
2, Dividend Tax Credits for pension schemes abolished
3, Income tax relief on health insurance abolished
4, Insurance Premium Tax extended to some health insurance
5, Road Fuel Tax escalator increased to 6%
6, Vehicle Excise Duty increased
7, Tobacco duty escalator increased to 5%
8, Stamp Duty raised to 2%
9, Carry back of Corporation Tax losses limited to 1 year
10, Windfall tax on utilities
March 1998
11, Tax relief for the married couple's allowance (MCA) cut to 10%
12, Top rate of Insurance Premium Tax extended to travel insurance
13, Exceptional increase in tobacco and alcohol duties
14, Duties on casinos and gaming machines raised
15, Road Fuel Tax escalator increase brought forward
16, Tax on company cars increased
17,Tax relief on foreign earnings abolished
18, Tax concessions for certain professions abolished
19, Capital gains tax imposed on certain non-residents
20, Restriction of Capital Gains Tax relief on reinvestment
21, Corporation tax payments on account brought forward
22,Stamp duty increased again
23, Certain hydrocarbon duties increased
24, Additional diesel duties introduced
25, Landfill Tax increased
26, Double tax credits on certain dividends restricted
We are seeing the undignified death throws of the now incompetent
Nu-Labour government!
Excellent title pun David
Ranger
You don't mention that the basic rate of income tax has been cut from 24% to 20% under Labour.
Nor does he mention that the 10% level has also been scrapped! - nor that personal allowances have been altered to negate any basic rate adjustments...
What the govt. gives with one overplayed overdramatised hand, they take back with a thousand sneaky little pinches...
A useful recap Ranger. People have short memories, so your list is a good memory-jog.
While the decline and fall of Nu Labour is not without entertainment value, I find no pleasure in a by-election occasioned by the death of an MP. In this case even more so because although I disagree with her party's politics there was much to admire in Gwyneth Dunwoody.
It seems disrespectful and undignified to fighting a campaign over someone's grave.
Surely there is an argument for saving the cost of a election and just slotting in a Laobor replacement for the rest of the term? Deaths occur in all parties so thre should be no advantage to anyone in the long term.
Resignations would be a different matter.
Ranger, good list, when you consider that the Tories were pilloried for 22 tax rises between 1992 and 1997 the fact that Labour made 26 tax rises in their first year is interesting.
The list also highlights the sheer number of taxes we have to pay in order for government's to pretend that taxes aren't rising. Personally if they have to tax then I'd rather they just raised income tax or VAT instead of trying to sneak through all the hundreds of little taxes.
Ernest posted:
nor that personal allowances have been altered to negate any basic rate adjustments
Eh? Personal allowances have been increased each year in line with inflation.
So, Peter, has there or has there not been a massive increase in taxes and regulation under Labour?
NRG
Taxes as a proportion of GDP have increased from around 38% to around 40%, hardly a "massive increase".
There has been a torrent of new regulation, no question, mostly driven by the EU.