He gets it but will they?
- 22 Apr 08, 03:11 PM
Labour MPs were delighted to hear last night that Gordon Brown "gets it" (at last) when it comes to their concerns on the 10p tax rate. Now they want to know what those of their constituents who've lost out will get and when they'll get it.
Day by day, hour by hour the government's position is shifting. First there was denial that there was a problem; then came acceptance that it had to be looked at; next followed a promise that the Treasury work programme for the next Budget would be amended to include consideration of childless households; now we learn that the Treasury select committee is to hold a swift inquiry into who's lost out and what can be done to compensate them.
"So what?" you may ask. Well, the select committee is chaired by Labour's John McFall who, though his own man, is close to Alastair Darling. What's more his report will come out before the final Commons vote (the Report Stage) on the Budget. Thus, rebel MPs can be told that before the Bill passes into law - but, conveniently, after next week's local elections - they will get a chance to study an independent study into the losers and how to compensate them and, indeed, to the government's response. They can reserve their right to rebel until then but not give the Tories the humiliating defeat for Gordon Brown which they crave.
This, in itself, will not ensure that the losers "get it" nor when they get it. However, it does put flesh on the bones of the Treasury promise (which I wrote about yesterday) to give MPs both a "process and a timetable" for dealing with the 10p tax problem. My hunch is that it's likely to ensure that the government "gets it" - the vote, that is - although there will be some hard bargaining between now and next Monday's vote.
