This isn't a new phenomenon. It has existed every since the Tories abandoned Butskellism and decided that an offer of a small state, low tax regime would attract voters. Moreover with the fall of the Iron Curtain the Tories could no longer attack Labour as being a quasi communist party, so instead characterised it as a high tax party. By 1997 the Tories were so unpopular, and after Black Wednesday had lost economic credibility, so this wasn't initially an electoral problem. Moreover New Labour inherited a growing economy thanks to devaluation and found all sorts of ways of increasing stealth taxes to fund improvements in public services.
However Labour was so traumatised by being blamed in 2010 for the GFC that it reacted by abandoning the defence of providing high quality public services in return for higher personal taxation. The result is the cakeism so extensively proffered by Labour ministers.
Lab have made the strategic mistake of failing to justify higher taxes, but simply joined the cakeism brigade. However Labour can't undercut the Tories on taxes so need to make a positive case, if necessary thru hypothetication. Brown went someway towards this and so did the Lib Dems before the Coalition.
The SNP did grasp the nettle and their dismise was caused by other factors, not tax. At one stage Brown went someway towards this, and before the Coalition so did the Lib Dems. Even Johnson did so, only for the NI increase to be dropped by Sunak, supported by Starmer and Reeves.
Was that a test run for Trump?, sounds like it. What are the US public servants going to eat?
"China represents a significant national security challenge to the UK." Given the present state of the USA how safe is anything?
Plenty of strategic risks to go around!
👍
This isn't a new phenomenon. It has existed every since the Tories abandoned Butskellism and decided that an offer of a small state, low tax regime would attract voters. Moreover with the fall of the Iron Curtain the Tories could no longer attack Labour as being a quasi communist party, so instead characterised it as a high tax party. By 1997 the Tories were so unpopular, and after Black Wednesday had lost economic credibility, so this wasn't initially an electoral problem. Moreover New Labour inherited a growing economy thanks to devaluation and found all sorts of ways of increasing stealth taxes to fund improvements in public services.
However Labour was so traumatised by being blamed in 2010 for the GFC that it reacted by abandoning the defence of providing high quality public services in return for higher personal taxation. The result is the cakeism so extensively proffered by Labour ministers.
"The result is the cakeism so extensively proffered by Labour ministers" LOL. just Labour?
Lab have made the strategic mistake of failing to justify higher taxes, but simply joined the cakeism brigade. However Labour can't undercut the Tories on taxes so need to make a positive case, if necessary thru hypothetication. Brown went someway towards this and so did the Lib Dems before the Coalition.
The SNP did grasp the nettle and their dismise was caused by other factors, not tax. At one stage Brown went someway towards this, and before the Coalition so did the Lib Dems. Even Johnson did so, only for the NI increase to be dropped by Sunak, supported by Starmer and Reeves.
LOL