Tag Archives: low earner liberal democrats

The low earner Liberal Democrats revisited

By Mark Pack | Thu 7th June 2012 - 11:50 am

A couple of years back I posted about the “low earner Liberal Democrats” who have been a major part of the party’s progress, especially in squeezing Labour votes in more rural seats and in making progress in urban areas against Labour. Events in the interim have if anything made this group even more important to the party.

In some ways, with in particular the emphasis on the £10,000 or more income tax allowance, support for a (modified) benefits cap and the Pupil Premium, the party’s policy outlook now addresses all the more their main concerns. However, in other ways, it does not.

Low earner Liberal Democrats: what’s the impact of the budget?

By Mark Pack | Fri 26th March 2010 - 10:20 am

Having covered earlier in the week the importance of ‘low earner Liberal Democrats’ to the party’s prospects, how are things looking after the Budget?

One thing Alistair Darling most certainly did not do was to raise the income tax threshold to £10,000, the Liberal Democrat policy that would take millions out of income tax completely and also cut the tax bill for those low income households on higher incomes. Instead, he went in the opposite direction by freezing (i.e. cutting in real terms) the income tax threshold.

(Given the Fabians criticised the Lib Dem plans for raising the basic income tax …

Posted in News | Also tagged alistair darling, budget 2010 and vince cable | Leave a comment

Low earner Liberal Democrats: the rural dimension

By Mark Pack | Wed 24th March 2010 - 10:20 am

In talking about the low earner Liberal Democrats this week, I have emphasised the urban aspect:

It’s a group of people that is not that often explicitly addressed in Liberal Democrat policy debates or campaigning and messaging discussions, expect in as much as they are part of the millions who would benefit from the party’s policy of raising the income tax threshold to £10,000.

Yet these low earner households have been the bedrock of many of the party’s biggest electoral successes in the last decade. The party’s control of a string of large cities – Liverpool, Sheffield, Newcastle, Bristol and so

…

Posted in Op-eds | 4 Comments

The low earner Liberal Democrats

By Mark Pack | Tue 23rd March 2010 - 10:20 am

Yesterday The Voice ran an op-ed from the Resolution Foundation’s Sophia Parker about the, “9.4 million working-age ‘low earners’ – those people living on an average household income of £15,800 while remaining broadly independent of state support.”

It’s a group of people that is not that often explicitly addressed in Liberal Democrat policy debates or campaigning and messaging discussions, expect in as much as they are part of the millions who would benefit from the party’s policy of raising the income tax threshold to £10,000.

Yet these low earner households have been the bedrock of many of the party’s biggest electoral …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged featured and resolution foundation | 28 Comments

The Independent View: five key priorities for the UK’s low earners

By Sophia Parker | Mon 22nd March 2010 - 3:20 pm

Today, the Resolution Foundation launches our open memo to the next government. In it, we propose five key priorities which we believe will improve outcomes for the UK’s 9.4 million working-age ‘low earners’ – those people living on an average household income of £15,800 while remaining broadly independent of state support.

These are families who may not be the poorest in society, and they are not in crisis. Nevertheless their economic independence is fragile and they are living at the very edge of their means. 56 per cent have experienced a drop in income since the start of the recession – and …

Posted in Op-eds and The Independent View | Also tagged resolution foundation | 11 Comments