Comment
Don’t go blaming the press, Gordon
IT is not a case of us going out of our way
to pick on Gordon Brown, but it does
seem that he cannot put a foot right at
the moment.
The Prime Minister's visit to the United
States, to meet George Bush and the
presidential candidates, has been embarrassingly
overshadowed by the rumblings
back home over the abolition of
the 10p tax rate.
The fact that Mr Brown was forced to
break off from his trip, to make an emergency
telephone call to persuade ministerial
aide Angela Smith not to quit over
the issue, fuels the perception of a man
desperately trying to hold his credibility
together.
Mr Brown is reported to believe that
the 10p tax row has been blown out of all
proportion by the media, but it is not unusual
for a politician to blame the press
when something goes wrong.
The truth is that there is significant
dissent in the Labour ranks over a move
which has left poorer families worse off.
Three junior government members
have now made their concerns public and
we know of at least one other who is unhappy
about the 10p rate but has decided
not to speak out because it is too late for
it to be unravelled.
It is a strange decision to make for a
party committed to wealth distribution,
especially in view of the fact that it was
Mr Brown who introduced it in the first
place.
9:26am Saturday 19th April 2008
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