PM sets out stall on low tax economy
In an interview in The Times today, Prime Minister Tony Blair sets out his stall for maintaining a lower tax, high productivity British economy.
The PM says, in an apparent rebuff to Chancellor of the Exchequer, that higher taxes would infringe upon the UK’s ability to remain competitive in a world where China and India are set to dominate.
He says: “You have also got to make sure that you remain competitive in your economy, including on the levels of taxation.”
He defended his decision to press ahead with controversial public service reforms, including those in health and education. And he reiterated his advocacy for the one per cent increase in April in national insurance contributions, which will help to pay for extra spending on health until 2008.
He also mounted a rigorous defence of university top-up fees, though he admitted poorer students may receive extra financial help in the form of bursaries and ability-to-pay schemes.
But in the interview he rejects the idea of a “pure graduate tax,” which, he argues, could entail students paying thousands of pounds for a two-year foundation course.
The PM also outlined new measures to tackle low-level crime, such as drunkenness, aggressive begging and other anti-social behaviour, which will be announced on Tuesday.
The PM said Labour, the “only serious option,” had a “huge opportunity” to win an historic third term of office.
“It is a special responsibility to stake out the centre ground of British politics: how you combine economic stability with the development of a true knowledge-based economy, how to combine investment in our public services with genuine reform so that they become personalised services built around the individual.”
Looking to quell fears in the business community that the unions were beginning to flex their collective muscle, the PM said Labour would not be bossed by the unions.
“The truth is that the unions don’t run the show. Hands up who seriously thought that as a result of the unions’ defeating us on foundation hospitals, I was about to pop up and say: ‘Well, we are changing policy now.’ And that is the difference.”
