Clegg accuses Brown of hitting the poor with Tax changes

9.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 9th Apr 2008

Gordon Brown's decision to abolish the 10p rate of income tax is "an outrageous political stunt at the cost of the poorest", Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has said. Speaking on BBC1's Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, Nick said the tax change was a "defining moment" which left the Labour Government with no right to talk about fairness in British society anymore. The Treasury select committee, which has a majority of Labour MPs, today attacked the changes too, highlighting that the combined effect of cutting of the basic rate of income tax from 22p to 20p in the pound, and the raising of the lower 10p band to 20p, would be that childless single people earning less than £18,500 would lose up to £232 a year.

Nick Clegg said "I think it's a defining moment in British politics. I don't think the Labour government now has any right to talk about fairness in British society anymore. They are abandoning over five million of the poorest people. Why? For a cheap political stunt by Gordon Brown himself. By removing the 10% tax band, soldiers serving in Afghanistan, nurses working hard in the NHS, low income pensioners - over 5 million of the poorest people, it's estimated, with incomes between £5,000 and £18,000 - are suddenly finding that starting rate of tax is doubling. Why? So that Gordon Brown could offer a 2p cut in the rate of 22p to 20p for the following day's headlines. I think that is an outrageous political stunt at the cost of the poorest in British society."