British Tories won’t reduce income inequality

• mummybot
• 14 years ago
• Categories: International, uk politics

I am an ex-pat Kiwi currently living in London which, in the run up to the May 6th general election in the U.K., is enabling me to witness the striking parallels between the Tory talking points and those of the National party. George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, in a recent interview with the Guardian spoke of ‘aspirational Britons’. Efficiency savings continue to be touted – they won’t fire anyone – but won’t rehire for vacated posts. There will be targeted tax cuts (exactly where hasn’t been outlined). Yet firm policy is nowhere to be seen, as if actually showing their game plan is anathema to getting elected. It all starts to sound very familiar… until the often repeated David Cameron line that income inequality under New Labour has increased. Improving income inequality? The Tories? WTF?

Given the similarities between Tory and National talking points (the likely involvement of Crosby-Textor) one could assume that a Tory government will look not-unlike a National government:

• Beneficiary bashing,
• Efficiency savings in the public sector, which amounts to massive lay-offs, further hampering the slow recovery,
• Targeted tax cuts which will go to the rich, but deliberately obfuscated so that the general populace won’t know what is going on,
• More ‘aspirational’ talk for hard working Brits, translated to ‘if you aren’t middle-Britain and you don’t aspire to having a bigger job/car/house/vacation/more stuff’, then you aren’t valued.
• More choice for ‘aspirational’ Britains, letting public services fail on a market based approach (Anne Tolley knows a few things about report cards for schools).

David Cameron is leaving himself open to criticism on this point. In the unlikely event that they don’t increase income inequality, there is certainly no way that Tory policies will decrease or halt it, yet he is continuing to point this out about Labour’s record with a free pass. Somebody in the U.K. media needs to push hard on this, and stop allowing the Tories to get away with it. I can only assume that he is hoping poor and middle class voters hear this and go “gosh that is why I’m not earning as much as workers from the city, it’s all Labour’s fault. I’m going to vote Tory”. Nonsense!

Billboard courtesy of mydavidcameron.com.