It is very hard for us to make a serious choice in this election without talking about one factor above all others – class. This isn't about David Cameron's background; it's about his policies. It is a provable fact that he will redistribute wealth – substantially – but in a strange direction: from everyone in the big wide middle and bottom of British society, to the very top.Here are some facts.
Dave will hand a £1.2bn inheritance tax cut to the richest 2 per cent in Britain – with most going to the 3,000 wealthiest estates (including his wife's).
Then Dave promises to end the 50p top rate of tax, giving another £2.4bn to the richest 1 per cent.
Then he has pledged to cut taxes on the pensions of the richest, handing another £3.2bn to the same 1 per cent.
Then his marriage tax relief policies will give 13 times more to the rich than the poor. To pay for this, he will slash programmes for the middle and the skint, like the Child Trust Fund, SureStart and state schools.
We also know that tens of thousands of public sector jobs and the very services they maintain are under serious threat of cuts and sell off to the private sector. We also know that this branch is comitted to Public Services, Before Private Profit.
Fact!
(courtesy of Johann Hari at the Independent)
