This week’s Letter from the Leader tells us something that members and supporters really should know already – that Liberal Democrats are responsible for raising the tax threshold, that the Tories in general and David Cameron in particular, trashed it publicly at the time. But now that the idea has turned out to be popular, the Tories are claiming it as their own. Keep this one in your bookmarks to show off who’s really responsible for this significant achievement.
I know I don’t usually send you videos of the Prime Minister. But this one – where he tells me it would be impossible to raise the personal allowance to £10,000 – is worth watching again. Especially now the Tories are desperately trying to take credit for delivering it!
When you hear Conservative activists out and about, claiming that the £700 income tax cut was their party’s doing, remind them of this:
Not only did they oppose the policy before the last election; in the 2012 Budget, when I wanted to go further and faster to reach our £10,000 target, the Conservatives only agreed to it in return for a tax cut for top earners – cutting the top rate of income tax to 45p.
So while the Liberal Democrats fought for tax cuts for millions, the Conservatives prioritised tax cuts for millionaires.
Now I hear they’re considering a promise, at the next election, to raise the personal allowance to £12,500. That’s a great idea. So good, in fact, that we’ve already had it. This is almost identical to the Liberal Democrats’ plan to raise the personal allowance to the minimum wage – a commitment we agreed at our Spring Conference last year and which I want to see at the heart of our manifesto in 2015.
The Liberal Democrats are, and will continue to be, the party of fair taxes.
Enjoy the video – and tell us how you’ll spend your £700 here.
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One Comment
I am extremely saddened and disillusioned by Ed Davey’s advancing Hinckley Point nuclear plant.
I am concerned about the long term needs of the waste disposal which have very long half lives. The dangers of damage are still being felt in Chenobyl and more recently and graphically in Japan.
China is building coal fired plants which will negate any “clean ” energy we produce.
I get my energy from Ecotricity – and pay a small yearly premium so that all my energy is” green”. So why not put money into more research into using our tidal energy – we are using offs shore wind farms – lets use tidal power too,
Finally lets look at ways of reducing our use of energy.