Lib Dem denial machine moves into full swing

Some Tory drone - I think his name was 'David Cameron' released an image earlier today, claiming 24 million people were £600 better-off as a result of this month's changes. This is what the poster SHOULD have said.

Some Tory drone – I think his name was ‘David Cameron’ released an image earlier today, claiming 24 million people were £600 better-off as a result of this month’s changes. This is what the poster SHOULD have said.

We have all seen the Liberal Democrat Party losing its grip on reality during its years in Coalition with the Conservatives.

One of my favourite examples of this was the claim that the Lib Dems had mitigated the hated Health and Social Care Bill (as it was then) – Andrew Lansley’s NHS privatisation effort – to ensure that rampant privatisation would not take place, and that they could therefore vote in favour of it with a clear conscience.

Earlier this year, of course, we all learned about SI 257, the statutory instrument that would have imposed mandatory marketisation on nearly every NHS service, without the requirement of a Parliamentary debate or vote. Clearly the Lib Dems had been hoodwinked. There was a massive public campaign against this betrayal and SI 257 was withdrawn, but only to be replaced by something that was so vaguely-worded that it is almost as bad (possibly worse, in fact).

Now, they’re crowing about the fact that the Personal Allowance – the amount a person can earn before paying Income Tax – has risen to £9,440. Apparently this means people on low incomes are now £600 per year better off than they were at the time of the last general election, in 2010.

But wait! What about all the benefit changes – by which I mean cuts – that came in at the same time? We’ve all seen the figures that show they will make low-earners £891 per year WORSE-off.

Put those together and, no matter which way you slice it, people earning less than £9,440 will be up to £291 worse off than in 2010.

Meanwhile, the top rate of Income Tax has fallen from 50p in the pound to 45p, for people with incomes of more than £150,000 – that means people earning more than £1 million will be £100,000 better-off.

Danny Alexander was on Radio 4’s Today programme, trying to talk up the changes. He said the Coalition “is working hard to help those on low and middle incomes” – into poverty?

Other changes mean the amount pensioners can take home every year will no longer rise with inflation but has been frozen, meaning they will be worse-off this year. It has been dubbed the “Granny Tax”. They do get a rise in the state pension, by 2.5 per cent – but that only equals £110 per week.

And Mr Alexander was also keen to talk about the so-called “Tycoon Tax”, which imposes a limit on the amount of tax relief people can claim by investing in business or donating to charity.

This – again – avoids the possible consequences of such a measure. How many businesses and charities will fall into difficulty because benefactors no longer have the financial incentive to help them out? I’m not sure, so I am unwilling to condemn it immediately – but I fear the worst.

One conclusion we can draw from this – and previous changes – is the obvious:

Liberal Democrats ignore their mistakes.

The denial machine is not only in full swing – it’s in danger of overheating.

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12 Comments

  1. Editor April 6, 2013 at 3:02 pm - Reply

    Reblogged this on kickingthecat.

  2. liz727 April 6, 2013 at 4:32 pm - Reply

    Wonder how the LibDems will feel in years to come when the realisation hits they helped to destroy the country we knew and loved?; that they sold their souls to be “in Power”, or so they thought, only to become lapdogs to the Conservatives?

    The only comfort for those of us who survive these cuts (and many won’t) is that the LibDems wilderness years will be everlasting as they will never be trusted enough to have anything to do with running this country again. Shame on them forever.

    • Workhouse April 6, 2013 at 5:05 pm - Reply

      Sadly the Lib Dems just like every political party in this country have no feelings. Only large bank accounts and wallets, nothing else matters to them.

    • Workhouse April 6, 2013 at 7:20 pm - Reply

      Aww poor Cleggie, he had to make do with a cut price holiday. It must be the austerity. After all we are all in it together!

  3. Thomas April 6, 2013 at 8:51 pm - Reply

    Whatever happens to the Conservatives, the Lib Dems are doomed at the next election,and possibly for all time.

    • Workhouse April 6, 2013 at 8:54 pm - Reply

      It does not matter what party gets in next time, the only thing that will change is the colour of the TIE’S!

  4. Norman Walsh April 6, 2013 at 10:15 pm - Reply

    Something should be done so that when this load of no marks lose the election they just don’t walk back to their mansions and in cleggs case his butler duties they should be made to pay something back for ruining the country

  5. Ian April 7, 2013 at 8:49 am - Reply

    I’m a fairly low wage earner and I for one am grateful that I get to keep more of the money I earned.
    The last UK Labour Government had a top tax rate of just 40p for all but a month of their period in office. It is no secret that the Tories wanted it back down to Labour’s level but Nick Clegg blocked it.

    • Mike Sivier April 7, 2013 at 9:12 am - Reply

      Responsible governments put tax rates up or down according to necessity; for the last Labour government, it wasn’t necessary to put the top tax rate up until the financial problems caused by the banks around 2007-2008 demanded it. Unfortunately, because of the way these things are timetabled, this meant the new top tax rate only came into force in April 2010. That’s not a poor reflection on Labour; it’s just how it worked out. Bear in mind that the Coalition announced the tax break for millionaires a whole year before it happened.
      The problem with the Coalition’s tax break is that it was a rush job – the Tories didn’t care about the facts; they just wanted to reverse the change and give a bung to their rich buddies.
      As a low-wage earner, I think the best you can say is that you are LOSING less of the money you earned, thanks to the rise in the Personal Allowance. I take it that, as a low-wage earner, you are still receiving such state benefits as apply to you, and will therefore be affected by the benefit cuts being imposed by the Coalition?
      If not, how are you managing to survive at all?

  6. rainbowwarriorlizzie April 7, 2013 at 10:46 am - Reply
  7. vicmart009 April 19, 2014 at 10:36 pm - Reply

    Tycoon tax ? What’s this a new benevolent funding by the 1% fat pigs to appease fund the food banks of the hungry? Allah & the prophets be praised who shall bestow momentous bounties upon these thy mercies upon the Liberal Party . NEXT !

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