There’s plenty of comment rattling around this morning on Darling’s 10p tax compensation. The Guardian calls it “crude, simple and costly”, whilst the Mirror strains to remind us, “The bottom line is that 22 million low and middle-income earners will be £120 better off this year.” The best take, though, is Peter Riddell’s in the Times. Here’s his “bottom line”:
“So the Treasury will have to raise a very large amount next year. This means either higher taxes or lower spending since higher borrowing cannot be continued. The public finances are not in a healthy state after the sharp rise in public spending since 2000. The Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates that an £8 billion adjustment will have to be made at some stage. Now, with the economy slowing, is the wrong time. But a painful corrective package cannot be put off for ever. The danger is that unpopularity makes the Government less fiscally responsible so as to appease disgruntled supporters. So much for prudence and the Iron Chancellor.”
Now, it all comes down to whether voters are won over by Darling’s profligacy. If they are, then Brown can consider his cynical mission accomplished. But – as Fraser discovered on a Five Live phone-in last night – many aren’t falling for the con.
P.S. Phase 2 of the latest Brown relaunch begins at 12:30 today. We’ll be covering it on Coffee House.
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