Labour and tax

Polly Toynbee is partly right when she says that "hope has to be Labour`s answer", because for many of us, the only hope is that Labour can develop some election-winning policies, and change this country into one whose society and economy are based on fairness. (This job needs the thickest skin in the shadow cabinet, 22/10/13) Labour need "not be lax"; in fact, they can be tough as they like, but on the correct targets, bankers and their still-as-ridiculous-as-ever bonuses, tax evaders and avoiders, and energy companies and their blatant profiteering. No government contracts to companies either avoiding the correct amount of corporation tax, or failing to pay a "living wage", will do for starters. The minimum wage must be raised immediately, and the income tax bands revised to be both fair and to please the IMF, who now think the rich are under-taxed. Those earning three times the average income must be seen as wealthy , and taxed accordingly, with a sliding scale rising to at least the Thatcher-era level of 60%,  to ensure fairness ensues; the so-called Laffer Curve must be dismissed for what it most certainly is, a ploy by right-wing economists to excuse the rich from paying their fair share.

 If Miliband can gain justifiable kudos from a pledge to freeze gas and electricity prices, why not extend the principle further to private rents, and house prices, to prevent the inevitable "bubble" and the continuation of what must be seen as the "economic cleansing" of central London.If Rachel Reeves is "Labour`s best hope for shifting the national conversation", she and the rest of the shadow cabinet had better start talking!