tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post7298567245469043442..comments2024-03-04T17:54:32.559+00:00Comments on Iain Dale's Diary: The Biggest By-Election Bribe in History?Iain Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03270146219458384372noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-18823857583309096852008-05-14T12:03:00.000+01:002008-05-14T12:03:00.000+01:00Simon Allum"I still believe that higher rate payer...Simon Allum<BR/><BR/>"I still believe that higher rate payers are £120 better off." <BR/><BR/>and I still maintain that the "threshold at which an individual starts to pay tax at the higher rate" and the basic rate band are two different things.<BR/><BR/>Something which has been confirmed this morning on HMRC's website <BR/><BR/>http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/news/may13.htm <BR/><BR/>anonymouus 10:02Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-53669367650072853992008-05-14T10:10:00.000+01:002008-05-14T10:10:00.000+01:00And a heartfelt apology from Frank Field for getti...And a heartfelt apology from Frank Field for getting personal.<BR/><BR/>Does this mean he now thinks Gordon Brown <I>will</I> be leader at the next GE? <BR/><BR/>What a masterstroke, at the weekend Brown was tarnished, out-of-touch and bullying. He was an outright electoral liability. Now the same people hail their gleaming Beloved Leader. <BR/><BR/>What a difference a couple of days can make. Have the party whips been waterboarding the rebels? Did a whizzing mobile catch Field in the solar plexus?<BR/><BR/>Funny bunch, these Westminster folk. Iain, I worry for you. This Gadarene mentality could be contageous.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-1194582191536726422008-05-14T09:55:00.000+01:002008-05-14T09:55:00.000+01:00Anonymous at 10:02PMI still believe that higher ra...Anonymous at 10:02PM<BR/><BR/>I still believe that higher rate payers are £120 better off.<BR/><BR/>Crunching the numbers, somone on £50,000 would (until yesterday) have been paying £10,626 in income tax this year. It will now be £10,506.<BR/><BR/>Neil Reddin is quite right, and I suspect that once Darling realises he's got it wrong, he'll quietly change his own proposal by having the £600 drop in the higher rate threshold increased to a £1,200 drop. The Finance Bill Committee is sitting at the moment, so the change will probably go through that. The interesting thing will be whether he does manage to do it quietly, or whether he's further embarrassed by the media realising that he and his department can't do their sums.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-4787784584548709462008-05-14T09:22:00.000+01:002008-05-14T09:22:00.000+01:00If this had been presented with the original cock-...If this had been presented with the original cock-up budget, all he has done is to increase the national debt in order to cut the taxes of the richest.<BR/><BR/>England cannot afford a McLabour government.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-48268400059769902832008-05-14T08:55:00.000+01:002008-05-14T08:55:00.000+01:00I'm not surprised by this- Labour have been an abs...I'm not surprised by this- Labour have been an absolute disgrace for quite a few years now. I expect the announcement will please the scu..Labour backbench MP's but in reality people are being clobbered by rising bills/prices/taxes so i expect this will sink like a lead balloon.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-68110733898377032332008-05-14T02:07:00.000+01:002008-05-14T02:07:00.000+01:00The bribe to which you refer Iain was made by Barb...The bribe to which you refer Iain was made by Barbara Castle, then Minister of Transport, at an election meeting for the Hull North By-election on 17th January 1966. Ten days later Labour held the seat with a greatly increased majority of 5000+<BR/><BR/>At least then they had the excuse that the future of the Government depended on the result as they had a majority of only 2 over all over parties, having lost Leyton to the Conservatives the previous January.<BR/><BR/>I shall be interested to see the impact on the £ when the markets open this morning. A panic emergency budget taken for very short-term and probably unsuccessful reasons will have serious longer term impact both on the government's finacial room for manouvere and their political standing with investors.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-42727753060230121992008-05-13T23:41:00.000+01:002008-05-13T23:41:00.000+01:00I think he did a very good job under the circumsta...I think he did a very good job under the circumstances.<BR/><BR/>Indeed ,and he faced problems not encountered by the Press who were handed the full details with plenty of time. As I say a new low from a desperate and dangerously dearnaged man.Newmaniahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11922161971821380803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-56637843854744579902008-05-13T23:36:00.000+01:002008-05-13T23:36:00.000+01:00was watching the glee on the Tories' faces opposit...was watching the glee on the Tories' faces opposite us slowly turn to gloom<BR/><BR/><BR/>Perhaps they were gloomy because they had not realised that Brown was a reptile capable of mortgaging every soul in the country just to save his stupid failed government for another week.<BR/>As a new low in Politics it makes me pretty gloomy but I do not believe the coutnry can be fooled by this charlatan.Newmaniahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11922161971821380803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-23080985707840724372008-05-13T23:27:00.000+01:002008-05-13T23:27:00.000+01:00This comment has been removed by the author.Richard Nabavihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11528980060497008785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-79267676728327958632008-05-13T22:02:00.000+01:002008-05-13T22:02:00.000+01:00Simon Allum and Neil Reddin,I think there is some...Simon Allum and Neil Reddin,<BR/><BR/>I think there is some confusion about terminology here and you may be a victim of your training. <BR/><BR/>He's put the personal allowance up by 600 and reduced the "threshold at which an individual starts to pay tax at the higher rate" by £600 - this isn't the basic rate band but the addition of the personal allowance and the basic rate band. So the basic rate band will be reduced by £600 from the increase in the personal allowance and by the £600 he announced. The effect of that is to deliver what the statement says in paragraph 25 http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/newsroom_and_speeches/speeches/statement/Speech_statement_130508.cfmAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-36135228036018787392008-05-13T21:32:00.000+01:002008-05-13T21:32:00.000+01:00Tom Harris MP said... Not as much a bribe as an ap...Tom Harris MP said...<BR/> <BR/>Not as much a bribe as an apology, Iain.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Rubbish, do your sums, Tom Harris - if you know how, that is.<BR/><BR/>Anyone earning slightly more than £1200 over the old basic allowance will still be worse off than with the 10% band.<BR/><BR/>As I've said on another section of Iain's Diary, someone with a salary of, say £7,435 PA would have paid £200 tax prior to Broon and Darling's latest snatch and grab.<BR/><BR/>Yet now, with the new "enhanced" basic allowance" of £6035, on a salary of £7,435 PA they will pay £280 income tax.<BR/><BR/>Brown has too much form for this, once again Mr smoke and mirrors who, when chancellor, even lied to his Prime |Minister to set up just what we have here, yet another nice little earner for himself and his nulab pals.<BR/><BR/>Brown is impoverishing the poorest once again. How can you be proud of that?<BR/><BR/>I don't believe for one moment he'll borrow £2.7 billion either, because he's snatching too much back from the poor to need it. And if Brown does borrow that sum, part of this will be to fund other expenditure like multi-millionaire MPs' 25% pay and pension rises.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-53734126964322140822008-05-13T21:16:00.000+01:002008-05-13T21:16:00.000+01:00If it is connected to the by-election then I supp...If it is connected to the by-election then I suppose we could call it a Crewe cut. (You see what I did there?)andrewhahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18033907326386770212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-46716445351720378232008-05-13T20:57:00.000+01:002008-05-13T20:57:00.000+01:00"PS Don't I remember Alistair Darling saying his r..."PS Don't I remember Alistair Darling saying his review of the 10 tax decision will last "as long as it takes" and "we won't play politics with this"? Just asking"<BR/><BR/>Yes Iain. It just goes to show how little regard this administration has for the public. If Crewe & Nantwich had been due last Thursday, you can be sure that old Snowy would have announced this con already.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-55017801475967359732008-05-13T20:34:00.000+01:002008-05-13T20:34:00.000+01:00Good for John Snow on Channel 4 News. He really we...Good for John Snow on Channel 4 News. He really went for Darling and Frank Field.<BR/>Field has blown it now as Mr Integrity. His feeble U turn in the Commons and grovelling apology to Brown was nauseating.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-37840990649528344532008-05-13T20:12:00.000+01:002008-05-13T20:12:00.000+01:00The current debt on the Humber Bridge is £400 mill...The current debt on the Humber Bridge is £400 million and so this is the biggest by-election bribe in history.<BR/><BR/>I think paralells can be drawn between this bribe and the by-election bribe of Barbara Castle. The lesson that should be taken is that by-election bribes of this sort need paying for. Here in East Yorkshire and North Lincs we are still paying the 1960s by-election bribe - £2.70 each way across the bridge and a debt of hundreds of millions of pounds for which local ratepayers are responsible! Will the country pay for this bribe well into the future???Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-68400926710004270572008-05-13T20:11:00.000+01:002008-05-13T20:11:00.000+01:00Tom Harris MP said..."I notice you didn't comment ...Tom Harris MP said...<BR/>"I notice you didn't comment on George Osborne's abysmal performance today. Don't blame you."<BR/><BR/>I think the right honorable gentleman should try scribbling frantically the finer points of a new budget (for this is what today's announcement was) while coming up with an appropriate response (no advance notice was given of this emergency statement). All the while I'm sure Osbourne was fully aware of the duplicitous nature of many other budgets. I think he did a very good job under the circumstances.Richard Hollowayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01496289874547803218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-82447551425823796132008-05-13T19:59:00.001+01:002008-05-13T19:59:00.001+01:00This decision was effectively dictated by Frank Fi...This decision was effectively dictated by Frank Field. His threat to vote against the budget, even on a motion of confidence, unless Darling remedied this cock up was clearly taken seriously.<BR/><BR/>Good to see that Nick Robinson on BBC1 tonight had dropped the 'Tories wrong-footed' line which was really a non-starter.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-57546891572420733082008-05-13T19:59:00.000+01:002008-05-13T19:59:00.000+01:00could have paid off the debt for that bridge whils...could have paid off the debt for that bridge whilst they were at it!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-32201986374417255842008-05-13T19:44:00.000+01:002008-05-13T19:44:00.000+01:00Brown wouldn't find £50 million to honour the poli...Brown wouldn't find £50 million to honour the police pay award, yet £2.7 billion can be found to save his job.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-19060474684700127972008-05-13T19:25:00.000+01:002008-05-13T19:25:00.000+01:00This is from www.conservativehome.com"The great Er...This is from www.conservativehome.com<BR/><BR/>"The great Eric Pickles has just called from Crewe. He was out canvassing and the Darling announcement had already reached peoples' ears. Crewe's verdict: "overwhelmingly negative". <BR/> The good people of Crewe and Nantwich are not fooled by the bribe and the stupid Labour MP.s who were cheering today will be back in the doldrums when they get whupped at the by election next Thursday. <BR/> As for your crawling to the Dear Leader today Mr. Field it only shows your credibility has been busted, because you have swallowed a bribe today, and one that only lasts for one year. Frankly I,m glad you haven,t joined the conservatives, there is no room for losers.<BR/> BTW enjoyed the b********g Darling got from the Speaker Gorbals Mick for sending the budget statement to the press room and not the Voting office.<BR/> I,m also looking forward to Paxman roasting whichever Nulab spokesperson comes on Newsnight tonight. <BR/> If Nulab and Bottler think this bribe will help make them popular again they are seriously deluded.<BR/><BR/> John F AberdeenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-15553184567724935442008-05-13T19:22:00.000+01:002008-05-13T19:22:00.000+01:00simon allum,I agree with you - he should have redu...simon allum,<BR/><BR/>I <A HREF="http://neilreddin.wordpress.com/2008/05/13/rush-job-darling-gets-his-sums-wrong/" REL="nofollow">agree</A> with you - he should have reduced the 40% threshold by £1,200 not 600 to make it neutral for HR taxpayers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-72488742382613989442008-05-13T19:20:00.000+01:002008-05-13T19:20:00.000+01:00It's amazing how money just seems to appear when I...It's amazing how money just seems to appear when I'm in trouble, isn't it? The fates must love me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-27779270240464749432008-05-13T18:55:00.000+01:002008-05-13T18:55:00.000+01:00Looking at the BBC's comment boards about 95% of t...Looking at the BBC's comment boards about 95% of the reaction has been negative if not downright hostile!<BR/><BR/>Come on Crewe and Nantwich! Do your duty and kick them hard in the *****!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-68263658107351453662008-05-13T18:39:00.000+01:002008-05-13T18:39:00.000+01:00The Labour majority is only seven thousand, you kn...The Labour majority is only seven thousand, you know. This is not a safe seat. It just had the same MP for a long time. Not the same thing at all.David Lindsayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06839882674758833524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-86374554799963019442008-05-13T18:35:00.000+01:002008-05-13T18:35:00.000+01:00Desperate bribery from NuLab after an almighty (on...Desperate bribery from NuLab after an almighty (ongoing) series of cock-ups.<BR/><BR/>They must truly be terrified.<BR/><BR/>Can we have a vote of no confidence now? Please?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com