Gordon Brown - a phoney and a hypocrite

09/01/2008

You ask what are British values? I would say fair play, decency,  honesty, compassion, common sense and a desire for justice in all circumstances. Unfortunately New Labour, including Gordon Brown have failed on all counts.

After ten years of enormous Council tax rises imposed on those least able to pay, a pathetic old age pension, a shockingly low Carers Allowance designed to discourage caring by loved ones, means testing which punishes those who have in many cases scrimped and saved over many years to obtain a small pension or savings  only to be told by Gordon Brown/Alistair Darling that they will be given less pension than those who have spent recklessly all their lives.

So people who have saved might get £90 a week pension whilst those who have not bothered will get £114 a week. In other words people who have low incomes and modest savings should get rid of their savings and get more money off the tax payer. In his last budget as Chancellor Gordon Brown made a grand gesture, announcing a tax cutting budget.

Disgracefully he ignored the fact that millions of people on low incomes will have to pay MORE tax and will be worse off. This is dishonesty on a grand scale from a man pretending to have a "moral  compass". The Treasury refused to acknowledge this tax increase for months, only recently admitting that lots of people would be up to £200 worse off on very low incomes.

Of course the Government says that tax credits will give the money back, but as I have already said if people have saved even modestly for their old age they will not get help from Gordon Brown's Treasury. In fact the Treasury admits that most people affected by the changes won't get tax credits. On the other hand those people earning more than average earnings will be up to £400 BETTER off.

In other words New Labour believes that they should make the rich richer and the poor poorer. As far as the so called consultation on Carers being organised by Carers UK and the Government is concerned we  have to realise that this charity is very close the the Government and has already told the Government that INCOME is NOT a high priority for CARERS.

This of course is nonsense so despite Carers UK giving out leaflets saying Carers Allowance is insultingly low they have given Gordon Brown a brilliant excuse to keep Carers benefits at the pathetically low level thay are now.
So much for social justice, so much for a Prime Minister who said he would" stand up for all." He is a phoney and a hypocrite.

Roger Fownes