The division between the haves and have nots remains as great as ever. Official figures show that the gap between the rich and the poor was greater in 2007-08 that it was in 1996-97. The richest fifth of the population earns over 5 times as much as the poorest fifth. The 5 million poorest households have an income of just £89 a week.
To add insult to injury, the least well off fifth of households pay a higher proportion of their income in tax than any other group. The least well off fifth pay an effective tax rate of 38.7%. The richest fifth have an effective tax rate of 34.9%. Charlie Elphicke believes this is unfair.
Meanwhile, the number of people doing absolutely nothing at all is at record levels. This is officially known as "economic inactivity" - which in reality means workless. Almost 7.9 million people of working age are economically inactive. A staggering number. That's 20% of the working age population. Locally, there are 13,000 workless people - one in four of the working age population. Without fairer, simpler taxes, there is not much incentive to work.
Charlie Elphicke believes this cannot be justified under any concept of fairness in a decent society. Worse yet, social mobility has fallen under Gordon Brown. Under Labour if you are born into poverty you are more likely now to live and die in poverty than before.
This would be a disgraceful record for any Government - and responsibility lies at the door of Gordon Brown and the Labour Party. The stealth taxes - like Council Tax and fuel duties - prey on the poorest who can least afford to pay. The system of benefits discourages people from striving for success. Gordon Brown and his Government is a model for the stealthy controlling hand, the fostering of dependency, the blunting of ambition and the abandonment of hope for a better future. In the current bitter recession, the price being paid by the least well off is becoming all too clear. Charlie Elphicke wants to see a Britain that we can all be part of, where we help everybody to grow and achieve their potential.
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cannot disagree with your sentiments chas, you could have stretched the figure about "richer and poorer gap" back to the sixties though!! both our main failed parties have contrived to get us to this situation. i have to disagree with your last highlighted paragraph. tax credits have given more incentive than anything before to encourage people to move from benefits to work. before you reply about the over complicated system, yes , i agree, but it is still putting money into pockets of previously exploited low paid workers.
- howard mcsweeney
It is all very well banging on about unemployment and economic inactivity it's all boils down to the same thing - there are not enough people making a financial contribution. In fact there are more individuals taking than contributing (National Statistics 16.09.09). You need to remove the incentive of long term benefit and benefit style payments to the indigenous workshy population of Britain. This will impact socially on Britain in a number of fundamental ways. It won't necessary stop us from repeating ourselves eg Victoria gin houses are the modern day equivalent of binge drinking but the working, contributing population of Britain will no longer feel that they are supporting the workshy.
- Diane Cawsey
Thanks Diane, your points are well made. I don't see it quite like this myself - I look at it the other way round. People on welfare are having their potential stunted. They deserve to have a chance to do well, to be encouraged into work. There they will find dignity, self respect, a wider circle of friends and they will have more money too. Everyone wins - rather than a cost in benefits, there are more tax revenues to help fund the public services we need. So we get to the same place I think, but for different reasons!
- Charlie Elphicke