Brown T0sser

[BoredBloke]

"As a life long tory supporter, always voted for them, I don't see the difference between labour and tory"

There is very little difference between them based on their policies. However one is vastly more expensive than the other.

[zathras]

Not a Brown fan by any means, but the artcle is hyperbolic and emotional (as it was designed to be) and short on numbers. Interestingly he doesn't tackle what the Tories would do differently, given that Dave has stated there will be no tex cuts.

Not strictly true as has already been pointed out. the policy is to ensure that the tax burden as a proportion of GDP goes down. There will be tax cuts but they will be less than the growth in the economy.

Further There is much room for simplication. Take for example; Tax Credits. Can someone please explain the logic of taxing us so much that we actually have to give it back to some, just to keep them out of poverty. Why not remove them from taxation altogether (and therefore remove the cost of collecting and then giving it back). So you could abolish tax credits altogether and increase the allowances to compensate.

Gordon Brown has consitantly said he will not increase income tax. OK, so why is it the highest proportion of the working population are paying upper rate tax. Why is it that the number of people who now end up paying IHT is at record levels.

There is plenty of opportunity to get rid of taxes (including one which involves 1400+ people being investigated and only 3 actually being found to be within it -or 2300 years of investigations - on average - for zippo return)

[Mailman]

p.s. hopefully they would cut down the incredibly bloated civil service too.

Bah. Humbug.

If Ive said it once before Ive said it a million times...what this country needs is someone to do a margaret thatcher on the civil service.

Sure there will be short term unemployment but hey...with the good comes some pain.

Mailman

[hyperD]

Liebour have already started to pre-empt Tory policies and have announced a pseudo-counter policy already: a £2b red tape "cut" for business.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6168449.stm

[Buffoon]

cutting civil service would give massive medium-long term benefit. in short term unemployment would rocket.

I think this would also mean that long term unemployment would go up too - who else would have them!

Ah hang on, if it is recognised that there is any jobs for ex-public sector workers then they cannot be job-seekers. So they cannot claim job-seekers allowance can they.

[BrilloPad]

p.s. hopefully they would cut down the incredibly bloated civil service too.

Bah. Humbug.

cutting civil service would give massive medium-long term benefit. in short term unemployment would rocket.

As a life long tory supporter, always voted for them, I don't see the difference between labour and tory. labour have taken all the john major policies and extended them - getting max feathers with minimum hiss.

Bring back Maggie! down with red tape! up with personal freedoms!

[Ruprect]

p.s. hopefully they would cut down the incredibly bloated civil service too.

Bah. Humbug.

[Ruprect]

Not a Brown fan by any means, but the artcle is hyperbolic and emotional (as it was designed to be) and short on numbers. Interestingly he doesn't tackle what the Tories would do differently, given that Dave has stated there will be no tax cuts.

Not strictly true - he's said that there won't be any for the sake of it, and not at the risk of economic stability. Basically they (tories) are in the same boat as labour were in 1996 - they have been out of office so long that they need to persuade the electorate that they know what they're doing and that they won't **** everything up as soon as they get into office. I would expect them to cut tax within a year or two if they do get in; there is no way the old guard won't pressure the administration into it (and we are at the highest rate in personal tax in history)

[wonderwaif]

I'm in agreement with the guy who posted this comment on the article:

"Irwin Stelzer is, of course right, as he invariably is. But what is the deep-down flaw in the psyche of the British people that ALLOWS them to continue stomaching this thieving control-freak in the Treasury ?
After nine years of having their pockets picked by this allegedly 'pschologically flawed' Chancellor, it can only be guilt: that deep-seated guilt that 'hard-working families' have absolutely no right to do what they choose with their own hard-earned money.
Over the last 40 years,'lefty do-gooders'have succeeded completely in making the British people feel guilty about everything they do and think -- consistently ramming down their throats that their hard-earned money should be whisked away from them to fund grand schemes for the greater good of mankind.
The problem for the British people is that they are sitting ducks -- drip fed with feelings of guilt for having colonised vast swathes of the world 200 years ago. It was typical that Blair recently saw fit to 'regret' Britain's part in the slave trade, rather than celebrating the fact that Britain instigated its world-wide abolition. No mention was made that both Arabs and Africans were a major part of that trade, and in some instances continue to pursue it.
It's time for all you folks who still live in Britian to say: "ENOUGH", and to send Brother Brown packing, so that you can begin to live joyful lives at last.
(Joy, by the way, is a kind of happiness, long, long forgotten by you folks who have yet to escape those increasingly unatrractive shores)."

[Bagpuss]

This is the problem the Tories have, they can't win by just slagging off Labour. It's a bit like going to a job interview and hoping to get the job by saying how sh1t everything is.

[sasguru]

Not a Brown fan by any means, but the artcle is hyperbolic and emotional (as it was designed to be) and short on numbers. Interestingly he doesn't tackle what the Tories would do differently, given that Dave has stated there will be no tex cuts.

[sunnysan]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/m.../12/do1201.xml

I am not going to post the whole article but it does highlight Browns hypocrisy and groundbreakingly its the first time I have seen his policies compared to that of the former Soviet Union, even if only in jest.

A good read and will get your blood boiling for a good Tuesdays coding or PM'ing.