For those who don't know there is a Facebook group (link in the title) called Labour Campaign for a Fourth Term: Go Fourth (pretty self-explanatory I think). I would urge anyone reading this who has a Facebook to join up and show your support for a 4th term. As a member of the group you'll get regular updates from members of the Go 4th team such as this message, sent today, from John Prescott about the callous attitude the Tories have to the people of the UK:
Hello,
I had to share this with you to show that the Tories haven't changed. They're still the same old heartless Thatcherites who said there was no such thing as society.
Tory Health Spokesman Andrew Lansley - the man who frighteningly could be running our NHS in less than 20 months - has actually written an article on the Tory Party blog stating the following:
"On many counts, recession can be good for us. People tend to smoke less, drink less alcohol, eat less rich food and spend more time at home with their families."
Absolutely remarkable! These people never suffered the full heartless economic impact of the Tory Do Nothing strategy during the 80s and 90s recessions.
You may remember what Lamont said in 1992, with Cameron at his side.
"If higher unemployment is the price we have to pay in order to bring inflation down, then it is a price worth paying."
And John Major said "If it's not hurting, it's not working" – And he was a moderate Tory!
They've even dug up that old 1992 Tax Bombsell poster which may have helped them win the election, but was at the cost of 3 million unemployed and caused a great deal of damage to the roof of the public services.
As I said yesterday, there's clear water between our parties now.
Intervene for the good of the country and its hard working citizens or do nothing.
So do me a favour - forward this email onto your friends. Let them know how heartless these people really are and get them to join us on this Facebook Group.
Take care and remember to Go Fourth. I can’t wait to campaign even more!
JP
An absolutely spot on article, these quotes exemplify the Tories' attitudes. They have no idea what is means to struggle, for them a recession means cutting back on a few luxuries. They won't be counting every penny to try and stretch the weekly budget to cover enough food for their families, but that doesn't mean that they can't imagine what it would be like. And yet, they don't. They just don't, because they don't care about anyone apart from people like them. And that is why I will never, ever, vote Tory.
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
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"...these quotes exemplify the Tories' attitudes. They have no idea what is means to struggle...They won't be counting every penny to try and stretch the weekly budget to cover enough food for their families..."
ReplyDeleteHmm. Why was it that The Institute of Fiscal Studies confirmed that anyone earning over £20,000 a year - teachers, nurses and police for example - will be worse off as a result of the Pre-Budget Report?
Labour’s planned increase in National Insurance will mean that everyone on a salary of £20,000 or above will be worse off in 2011 than today.
How compassionate. Why are Labour hitting 'hard working families' in the pocket?
Well for starters £20,000 a year is approximately equal to the media wage (which the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) puts at £20,801) so when you're talking about people earning above it you are talking about the top half of earners. Plus there's the fact that the graph at the IFS shows the amount people earning between £20 and £45 thousand a year will be paying extra in NI is between £0 and ~£120. This being at the same time that the temporary £600 personal allowance for income tax rise is to be made permanent and an extra £130 will be included for April 2009 and April 2010.
ReplyDeleteThis pre-budget report is about redistribution of wealth to those who need it.
How compassionate. Why are Labour hitting 'hard working families' in the pocket?
ReplyDeleteWell first of all we are not, who is going to pay more are those earning more than £150,000.
What is also true is that people on lower incomes are adversely affected by VAT as they have more of the cash they have coming in going out.
So this pre budget statement is good news for people on lower incomes and bad news for the tories, so not a bad thing there as if they win the cuts in funding for public services would be a disaster for the most vulnerable in our society.
One last point
Anonymous get a google account and sign in as debate is good and we like good debate but its sometimes nice to put a name to a post.
Well, I don’t think those earning approx. £20,000 should be paying more in their national insurance contributions. They are clobbered enough as it is.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it’s good to see that Labour have finally managed to implement their 1983 General Election manifesto, firstly by nationalising the banks and then by increasing taxes for high earners. What’s next Comrades, withdrawal from NATO or unilateral nuclear disarmament?
That pre-budget report marked the end of New Labour. Good ol’ Tony Blair would never have countenanced increasing the top rate of income tax, a policy which will do more harm than good (a policy rooted in the politics of envy to appease the left of your party). It will result in people working less, emigrating or disguising income as capital gains. In the end, this tax increase will generate less revenue which means less money for schools and hospitals.
That minimal decrease in VAT that you finally decided to go for - after considering raising it http://news.scotsman.com/politics/Chancellor-under-attack-as-Tories.4736051.jp - won’t make the slightest bit of difference to consumer spending.
The two aforementioned policies were merely measures designed to distract attention from the huge permanent tax rises in the Pre-Budget Report, including:
• £20 billion on National Insurance
• £10 billion on income tax
• £5 billion on alcohol and cigarettes
• £2 billion on pensions
These increases amount to nearly £1,500 for every family over the next Parliament. Cripes.
Instead of turning back to the politics of Michael Foot, remember the prescient words of Jim Callaghan: “We used to think that you could spend your way out of a recession, and increase government spending. I tell you in all candour that that option no longer exists, and in so far as it ever did exist, it worked by injecting inflation into the economy.”
Thanks for doubling the national debt to over £1 trillion. Your ill-informed Keynesian spending splurge will ruin the economy. As ever, the Tories will have to clear up the mess.