Labour Party

It is time to cut VAT.

/ Minimalist Christian / Leave a comment

VAT is a tax on what we spend.  Everybody has to pay VAT at the same rate, rich and poor alike.  The following chart shows which parties have changed the basic rate of VAT since its introduction by the Conservative government on 1973.

VAT rate changes

Increasing VAT puts a bigger burden on the poor than the rich, as shown by the following analysis of the most recent VAT risk from 17.5% to 20%:

Reducing the rate of VAT will ease life for the less well off, increase sales, increase business activity and lead to higher employment.  That will increase income and corporation tax revenues and reduce the cost benefit payments as there will be less people out of work.

It is time to cut VAT, not to consider increasing it.

Why public ownership makes sense

/ Minimalist Christian / 2 Comments

If I need some basic repairs carrying out on my car or my house, I know that the cheapest way to get the repairs done is to do it myself.  It is faster and easier and cheaper.

Why should it be any different for the nation?  If we want cost-effective roads, railways and other essential infrastructure, it is common sense for us to own and maintain them ourselves.  It’s faster and easier and because we are not paying someone else’s profits it is far cheaper.  Public ownership simply makes sense.

Other nations make a success of it. They are even running our rail services and taking the profits for their governments.

Keolis is 70% owned by the French government’s national rail service SNCF. It owns 35% of Govia, which runs the Govia Thameslink, Southern, Southeastern and London Midland franchises.

Arriva UK Trains, which operates a string of services including Chiltern, CrossCountry, Grand Central, Northern, Arriva Rail London and Arriva Trains Wales, is owned by Deutsche Bahn – whose sole shareholder is the Federal Republic of Germany.

Abellio is the international arm of the state-owned Dutch national rail operator Nederlandse Spoorwegen.

If you really want to upset yourself about this, watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvagsSOlAy4

Do we think so little of ourselves that we can’t do the same?  Isn’t it time to bring essential public services back into public ownership?

Jeremy Corbyn, the wind of change?

/ Minimalist Christian / 7 Comments

I have just joined the Labour Party, because Jeremy Corbyn has been elected their leader.

Many people, including political commentators, seem to think that the election vote was for Corbyn’s policy preferences rather than for the person. But I am less interested in the policies than the person. He is a breath of fresh air compared with previous Labour and current Conservative leaders, who exhibited an autocratic style of leadership. If Corbyn were an autocrat then I would be worried! But I remember that early in his campaign he talked of policies being formed by the party, not one person. If that is the case, I may even become active as a Labour Party member!

I am optimistic because I don’t think that the man is an idiot. He knows that he has to create a new unity within the Labour Party. That must be a unity where each opinion is valued and where each member is expected to vote according to their conscience. That is what he has lived throughout his political career, and that is one of the reasons people have voted for him: we are tired of political puppets dancing to the tune set by their leader (or worse, the big donors to their party).

Ever since Thatcher, our nation’s leaders have told us that it is OK to be greedy; that those with high wages ‘are worth it and deserve it’. Nobody has dared suggest that the poor may not want to be poor, and that their wellbeing is more important than a thriving economy that is able to support the wages of the rich. Corbyn is prepared to put the case for the poorest in society. He does not have to pick a fight with the wealthy if they are ready to recognise that they have a responsibility as fellow human beings to do their fair share in trying to balance the nation’s books. But if they don’t listen, and if greed prevails, then protest may become necessary.

I see Corbyn’s landslide election as a catalyst for a new type of politician, with humility and integrity, who is willing to serve and represent their community. Who can say quite what will happen, but disruption of a stale and failing political system has to be a good thing. If nothing else, he has captured the imagination of the younger generation. Let’s hope that this brings the positive change that we all want.