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Peter Black and South Wales West Liberal DemocratsRepresenting Aberavon, Bridgend, Gower, Neath, Ogmore, Port Talbot, and Swansea |
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Gap between rich and poor is Labour's shame says AM
May 31, 2007 12:40 PM
The Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for South Wales West, Peter Black, has characterised the income gap between rich and poor in Wales and the UK as 'Labour's shame'.
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) has released figures that show Gordon Brown's policies to support the less well off are failing to prevent the gap between rich and poor widening again. The ONS survey shows that the trend for those on the highest incomes to receive the biggest pay rises was outweighing the impact of tax credits, the minimum wage and extra spending on schools, hospitals and welfare benefits upon the incomes of the less well off.
Mr Black said:-
"After ten years of Labour, the income gap between rich and poor is wider than at any point under Margaret Thatcher. This is an outrage, and I am appalled by the Chancellor's response.
"The Budget raised income tax for taxpayers earning up to eighteen and a half thousand pounds a year. To Labour's shame, the Chancellor hiked taxes for the lowest paid to fund tax cuts for higher earners. Labour is still a party of redistribution - but now it's in the wrong direction.
"As for the Tories pretending to care about it, no one should forget that the damage was done during the second half of the eighties, and reached a peak in 1990 when Thatcher was still in office.
"A period of silence from them on this issue would be most welcome."
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