In the last decade, the division between the haves and have nots that New Labour promised to cure has not reduced. Official figures show that the gap between the rich and the poor was as great in 2006-07 as it was in 1996-97.
The richest fifth of the population still earns over 5 times as much as the poorest fifth. Official figures from the ONS show that some 5 million households have earnings of just £94 a week, while the richest fifth of households earn an average of £578 a week.
To add insult to injury, the least well off fifth of households pay a higher proportion of their income in tax than any other group. ONS research tells us that the least well off fifth pay an effective tax rate of 38.6%. The richest fifth have an effective tax rate of 34.8%.
Meanwhile, the number of people of working age doing absolutely nothing at all is at record levels. This is officially known as “economic inactivity” - which in reality means workless. Almost 7.9 million people of working age are economically inactive. A staggering number. That’s 20% of the working age population.
This division might be more justifiable if we lived in a true meritocracy. If there were up escalators and down escalators. And yet even that avenue is increasingly closed off social mobility has fallen under Gordon Brown. Under Labour if you are born into poverty you are more likely now to live and die in poverty than before. This would be a disgraceful record for any Government – most especially a Labour Government that claims to care about the least well off.
The responsibility for this lies at the door of Gordon Brown. For his are the stealth taxes - like Council Tax and fuel duties - which fall hardest on those who can least afford to pay. His is the system of benefits that blunts aspiration and discourages people from striving for success. Taken together his Government is a model for the stealthy controlling hand, the fostering of dependency, the blunting of ambition and the abandonment of hope for a better future. It's all classic Labour and, after 10 years, we can see that . . . Labour have done it again.