Labour's 10p tax rebellion: have the loyalists run out of patience?

The backlash over Labour's abolition of the 10p rate of tax has been a long time coming. It's over a year since the move was announced in Gordon Brown's last budget as chancellor. Yet this week could mark the biggest party rebellion since Labour swept to power in 1997.

Stuart Bruce expressed on his blog yesterday his anger at Labour policies that, in his words, damage the vulnerable and the economy. Stuart is exasperated by the axing of the 10p rate, the changes to capital gains tax and the threat to pubs - and their communities - posed by the increase in the duty on beer.

The bizarre thing about the 10p revolt is that it has taken until now for Labour activists and MPs to campaign against it in any numbers. Brown's 2007 budget speech concealed the 10p tax abolition, leaving many feeling cheated. This kind of subterfuge gets politicians a thoroughly bad name. As I blogged at the time:

"Today's budget cut the basic rate of tax by 2p to 20p - a move guaranteed to hit the headlines. But I wasn't the only one not to notice that Brown had also abolished the 10p tax rate, which will hit people on lower incomes. A strange move by a Labour chancellor. And one that confirms that budgets are about tricking as well as treating."

I don't support any one political party; I judge them all on how their policies and actions chime with my view of the world. But I've long been baffled by the way Labour has caused itself endless trouble by pursuing policies that seem at total odds with its values yet are also opposed by neutral voters. It's as if The Body Shop had decided to start testing its cosmetics on animals, overturning 30 years of opposition. 

Comments

[Stuart Bruce - Wolfstar]

Rob it hasn't "taken until now", people have been ferociously lobbying for ages. The only difference is that now it has come out into the open. I don't think any of us doing the lobbying actually thought it would fail and therefore we didn't think it would ever need to get to this stage.

[Rob Skinner]

Stuart
Fair comment, although I find it odd that it took 13 months for the lobbying to 'come out into the open' given the earlier very public backlashes over things like foundation hospitals, single parent benefits and student tuition fees.