Good news for Brown in new poll


by Sunny Hundal    
9:50 am - November 28th 2008

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Though The Times is spinning it negatively, there are some stats in its new Populus poll that bode well for Labour’s economic plans:

- Voters generally back the decision to introduce a 45 per cent top rate of income tax for those earning more than £150,000 a year…. Two thirds say ‘it is fair and right for the richest people in Britain to pay more of the cost of measures to avoid the recession’.

- Roughly two fifths, 42 per cent, say that “raising the top rate of income tax is an attack on aspiration and entrepreneurship”, with 51 per cent disagreeing.

- There was no voting intention question but the poll suggests that Mr Brown and Mr Darling have retained their lead as most trusted to deal with Britain’s economic problems in the months and years ahead, by 38 to 35 per cent over Mr Cameron and George Osborne.

As I said earlier, if the discussion keeps circulating around the ‘coming tax bombshell’ then the numbers are likely to drop for Labour. It should be continually hammered, as I did last night, that the Tories have no real plan. They don’t want to boost the economy as it’s going into a potentially massive recession and their only solution us to beg banks to start lending again without incurring more debt (how else do they plan to underwrite loan guarantees then?). Their plan is a farce and none of the national newspapers are putting the Conservative plans under much scrutiny.

So, Sunder Katwala was right that such tax rises are generally popular, despite Tory whining that its class war all over again, but the poll numbers look precarious unless Labour apparatchiks come out in force and properly explain what they’re doing and why. They may have a narrative, as he said earlier, but they haven’t communicated it properly yet even to the public.

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About the author
Sunny Hundal is editor of LC. Also: on Twitter, at Pickled Politics and Guardian CIF.
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Story Filed Under: Blog ,Economy ,Labour party ,Westminster


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Reader comments


1. Lee Griffin

No-one minds tax rises as long as it’s against people that aren’t them, hence not enough fuss being made over the 10p abolishment and the subsequent fact that Labour seem to think it is ok to say that they have lowered the base rate of tax when in fact they have fundamentally raised it.

2. Newmania

their only solution us to beg banks to start lending again

No it is to move quickly to underwrite bank lending to small firms and so solve the core problem , to make cuts to public expenditure compared to Labour and sustain long term lower taxes .To restore fiscal sanity and ensure long term lower interest rates. If underwriting loans to profitable companies is debt then can we have Northern Rock on the balance sheet please. That is a basket case and Granite has already cost the tax payer real money.
Gimmicks and bribes with our own money are not plans and the pointless ( negative revenue ) stab at the super rich is only to try and stop people noticing the real National Insurance rise which will hit ordinary people and is only the start

Labour’s foolish foolish prediction that it will all be over by next May will rank with “The end of boom and bust” and “Peace in our time “ in the top ten idiot predictions and betrayals .
Brown is risking a generation of loathing for the sake of his career. Those who care about the Labour party might want to think whether unquestioning loyalty is the best response when Old Labour is unelectable and everyone knows it .

3. john b

“Granite has already cost the tax payer real money.”

Our survey says: ‘come back when you know what you’re talking about’.

4. Newmania

We shall see I have dark suspicions about the value of Northern Rock at all but to be fair that was an illumihating article.

5. cjcjc

Oh dearie me…

“Tory lead up to 15 points in ICM poll as voters are left unimpressed by pre-budget report”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/nov/29/opinion-polls-labour-conservatives

6. Sunny Hundal

Well, that was my prediction anyway…


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