21 October 2009

The Guardian - No party for the poor

David Cameron’s claim that Labour’s alleged “big government” approach has deepened poverty and inequality over the past 12 years (Second thoughts, 14 October) is demonstrably wrong and grossly hypocritical.

First , the inequality of distribution of income, as measured by the Gini coefficient for post-tax incomes, increased massively under the 1979-97 Conservative government, but was roughly the same in 2007 as in 1997.

Second, levels of unemployment were dramatically worsened by the last Conservative government. Labour has not substantially reversed this increase in employment inequality, but has somewhat ameliorated it through the
minimum wage and tax credits, both of which the Conservatives opposed.

Third , while Labour has failed to improve the miserable level of state transfer payments, and has made no attempt
to shift the regressive burden of tax from poor to rich, Cameron has even less intention of doing either of these things.

The Conservatives should not be allowed to get away with the preposterous claim to be the party for the poor.

Jamie Gough,
Department of Town and
Regional Planning, Sheffield University