The Staggers

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Why Labour is right to focus on fairness

The question of how to distribute scarce resources will soon define politics.

By George Eaton Published 07 December 2011 18:59

Courtesy of Ed Balls, the IFS graph below made an appearance at PMQs today. As Ed Miliband pointed out, it shows that the poorest third will lose three times as much as the richest third next year.

It's worth noting that Labour's plans would likely have been regressive too, if less so than the coalition's. Public spending follows need and it would have been difficult for Alistair Darling to halve the UK's £160.6bn deficit without hitting the poorest. But this is still a smart line of attack by Labour. As growth continues to disappoint, the question of how to distribute scarce resources will become even more important. The current debate over stimulus and cuts will soon be secondary to this.

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Tags: Labour

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16 comments

Thu, 2011-12-08 01:30 — Sir Michael (not verified)

The overreaching reality is that a tiny minority of extremely greedy people are hoarding all the wealth. It isn't real wealth though, it's only "money". If there is a cascade failure in the capitalist system and we all end up going back to barter systems (which actuallly happened in South America not too long ago after an austerity drive) then their wealth is meaningless.

It is time a government with some balls (the sack variety, not the ed variety) put some heavy taxes on those with massive wealth and pay it out directly to the poorest (single mothers, sick, unemployed etc). Those at the bottom are less likely to save, thus that money will go directly on goods and services, which will in turn stimulate the economy.

Thu, 2011-12-08 01:54 — fashionnno

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Thu, 2011-12-08 03:33 — Fergus Pickering (not verified)

Nourredine's 'argument' seems to be that because Mr Maude gets a big pension (like Mr Balls for instance) he cannot legislate 'against the poor'. I agree that ALL MPs have their snouts in the trough, but me knew that already. The rest was vulgar abuse.

Thu, 2011-12-08 07:17 — Stuart Eels (not verified)

What a couple of bullying pea-brained luatics you are Fergus Pickering and B.SMALL. The only way that you try to get your points across is to pick on someone like Nourredine. The fact is that Maude was one of John Major's least effective gang and has got worse under Call me Dave.

Thu, 2011-12-08 07:33 — Luddite (not verified)

Few are even listening to Labour why should they? They've being wrong on welfare, immigration, employment, education, foreign policy and now on Europe, but then again they can all keep pretending they hold all the answers.

Thu, 2011-12-08 08:51 — I walker (not verified)

Don't you just love the Right-Whingers they shout and bully with capital letters.

What makes me equally laugh is they call Blair/Brown socialsts!

Thu, 2011-12-08 09:26 — swatantra

None but the brave deserve the fair.
Ed needs to put that in his pipe and smoke it. He needs to be bolder, not sit on the fence like a typical LibDemmer. He also needs to grow a moustache to show some authority.

Thu, 2011-12-08 10:02 — nourredine (not verified)

@Fergus Pickering,
I apologise to you about my spelling as i am french and i do make mistakes when typing, but i had a good academic education and i steel stand by what i tried to convey in my blogs

@B.SMALL,
I just like to put you strait about associating me with Blair/Brown you just got it completely wrong, the only thing i agree with you is that no Blair/Brown or Cameron/Osborne got the politic right but in balance Blair/Brown did more for the working class compare to Cameron/Osborne.
In addition my literature is not one way (lefty)as you put it but far more open and objective than yours in the way that you are living in the past with (Blair/Brown)we all know they were not perfect,no one is but there are limits, it is not juste Maude but i can write a list of M.P's, chief executives,etc... who fiddle,steel every day and go inpunished by evocating some fabulous stories or hiring top solicitors for their fraudes and that, in all parties, the problem is that it's always the poor class who has to pay the price,just because we are in numbers.
So be a little less bias and more balanced when comparing the political parties .

Thu, 2011-12-08 21:10 — Livers (not verified)

@Luddite

Awesome post. 100% rhetoric. You should stand for office with a blue rosette.

On the other hand, try some facts or even suppositions and you're more likely to fit in with us here.

Wed, 2011-12-07 21:39 — Scotty

Typical terminology of parasitic labour - distribute scarce resources, i.e. give it away - never allocate scarce reources to the benefit of all by effective investment, no, the left wing version of investement meaning means just b**** spend, we can spin that as committment.

Wed, 2011-12-07 21:48 — 697mkzgmxhgh

SINCE WHEN HAVE THE BRITISH UNIVERSITY-EDUCATED ELITES THE SOCIALIST/COMMUNISTS BEEN ABOUT FAIRNESS.

Every single law, regulation, power-base creater THAT THE BLAIRE/BROWN GANG, FORCED ONTO THE STATUTE BOOKS.

Has been UNFAIR TO THE ANGLO-SAXON INDIGENEINT 81% MAJORITY IN BRITAIN.

the socialist/communist blaire/brown/gang, stole,yes STOLE BILLIONS OF HARD-EARNED POUNDS FROM THE PENSIONS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WHO HAD BEEN PROMISED THAT IF THEY SAVED, 'in order to be able to live decent lives when they retired'

WHY DON'T SOME OF YOU BLAIRE/BROWN APOLOGISTS EXPLAIN TO THE VAST MAJORITY OF US

How the university reared labour/socialist/communist's who have thrown the country into ruination AS THEY SPENT BILLIONS OF POUNDS CREATING MILLIONS OF 'NON-JOBS', like a drunken family 'maxing-out-all-their-credit-cards',

and then declaring BANKRUPTCY AND RUNNING OFF TO HIDE IN EUROPE, LIKE BLAIRE AND HIS WIFE.

FAIR,????. FAIR???? WHEN DID EVER THE HIGH-FALUTIN SOCIALISTS PLAY 'FAIR' WITH THE REST OF US.

Wed, 2011-12-07 22:12 — nourredine (not verified)

@B.SMALL,
Yet again you keep banging at the wrong tree.
Ask Francis Maude how much will he get to violate the public pension and setting the private against the public sector?
well he get £731000 in his pension pot for his success which make him a nice pension of £43000 a year. not bad for destroying the working class at retirement age.
So do us a fever read a little bite more before vomiting your writing diharea on this decent blog.

Wed, 2011-12-07 23:42 — Fergus Pickering (not verified)

Nourredine, were you educated at one of our comprehensive schools or do you just not care? You don't bang at trees, you bark up them. And spelling is a bourgeois convention I suppose. If you are dyslexic I apologize.

Thu, 2011-12-08 00:08 — Livers (not verified)

Fergus.. how about addressing the main line of argument that @nourredine put forward?

Arse.

Thu, 2011-12-08 00:11 — Robert Caizley (not verified)

Fergus that is typical Tory nonsense, insinuating all comprehensive education is poor. Then again I shudder to think what the state of our financial sector would be in if it hadn't been run by the privately educated 'elite.' You shouldn't be having a go at someone's writing either when you use the American spelling of apologise and started a sentence with 'And.'

Thu, 2011-12-08 00:37 — 697mkzgmxhgh

@norrydene, Once again YOU PEOPLE present and clearly demonstrate the paucity of your 'chattering-class' brain's ability to observe the overreaching reality.

NEVER MIND FAT-ASSED MAUDIE, HE HAS NEVER PRETENDED TO BE ANYTHING OTHER THAN WHAT HE IS.

maudie, has seen the writing on the wall, (UNLIKE YOUR FAVOURITE SOCIALIST BLAIRE/BROWN, WHO, HIRED THE Rt HONOURABLE FRANK FIELD M.P. FOR LIVERPOOL,(in 1997) A MAN TRULY EXPERT IN THE CONSEQUENCES OF UNSUPPORTED PENSION COMMITMENTS, WHO HAS SPOKEN OUT FOR 35YEARS, TO SORT OUT WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW, and then sacked him when he told blaire/brown what was going to happen, and blaire/brown 'cut-off-the-messengers-head'' in true SOCIALIST REGAL-KINGLY MANNER)

On the other hand NORRYDEAR, your favourite blaire/brown tyrant, TOLD US ALL WHAT A GREAT-TRUTH-TELLING-HONEST-GOOD-FELLOW-LIVING-NEXT-DOOR, as he grinned-his-way-to-power in 1997, NOT FOR NOTHING WAS HE 'THEN' KNOWN AS TEFLON TONY.

He, preached-to-us-all about how HONEST-JOHN-MAJORS-GOVERNMENT was corrupt to the core.

AND THEN WENT ON TO DEMONSTRATE WHAT AN 'ELECTED-DICTATOR',LIKE HIM, CAN DO TO REALLY CORRUPT A NATIONAL GOVERNMENT.

The difference NORRYDERE, between maudie, who can see what HAS TO BE DONE, TO AVOID 'P.I.G.S' CONSEQUENCES, AND IS DOING JUST THAT.

Whereas YOUR VAUNTED LEADER, shouted the shout, and then HE AND HIS WIFE WENT ON TO WALLOW IN THE TROUGH OF PUBLIC MONIES IN EUROPE, ALONG WITH KINNOCK AND WIFE AND OILY-PATTON.

Norrydear,

Its time you read some proper historical reality literature, rather than the lefty,wefty feely-good garbage which seems to be your present sources