Is Bristow Muldoon a One Tax Pony?

Livingston MSP Bristow Muldoon is at it again, in a letter in today's Scotsman he seems to assume that income tax is the only measure of taxation in households. Perhaps Cllr. Cathy Muldoon is the one to deal with the family finances in that particular Murieston household.

The Liberal Democrat tax proposals agreed to yesterday are going to help the poorest and guard the environment, something which Prime Minister Elect Brown has failed to do in 9 years at the Treasury. In fact the majority of people will either be better off or no worse off under these proposals.

Nine years of Labour control of the nation's purse strings has actually seen the proportion of tax that the rich and poor pay get closer to equality than even the Conservatives managed. What a legacy 100 years into the Labour Party's history. These proposals are lifting the poorest 2 million out of income tax altogether. It is not increasing the overall tax burden something which Gordon Brown has had great difficulty with over the years.

Has Bristow Muldoon Really Thought Through His Council Tax Rebate?

Last month Bristow Muldoon MSP for Livingston announced that he was challenging the Liberal Democrats tax policy. Something, which I said at the time, was due to a lack of understanding that we were aiming for fairness in taxation and not higher taxation. I asked the question then just what has Labour done to lighten the tax burden for the average citizen.

Now Bristow is starting to offer piecemeal insights into his thinking starting with a reduction in council tax for pensioners. He admits that his proposals, unlike the Liberal Democrat tax proposals, have not been costed. However, he is in a bit of the quandary by saying:

The Scottish Labour Party believes the council tax is the best method of local taxation but recognises it could be improved.

How can something be the best system for doing anything if it needs improving? If it is the best system surely there should be no problems.

He acknowledges how unfair Council Tax to pensioners:

For many pensioners, there can be a high proportion of their income paid in council tax.

Of course there is Bristow that is what the Liberal Democrats, SNP and SSP have been telling you for some time now, glad you are catching up. The reason for this Bristow is that the council tax system is based on the value of the property that the pensioners live in and no relation necessarily to the income that they have. Most pensioners who are owner-occupiers will have bought their current house many years’ back in their working lives when they could afford the mortgage etc. They probably spent a lot less on the house than it is worth now especially if the 25 or 30 year mortgage is paid off. They are nowhere near earning proportionately the same to their house value now as when they first bought it. How do we know this because house prices have been inflation busting and pensions have not been anywhere near keeping up with salaries or inflation.

So Bristow and his 25% rebate is offering the appearance of being a knight in shining amour but is really not doing all that much. This would still result in a high proportion of their income paid in council tax especially if compared to an MSP living in Murieston.

He also says that this rebate will not be paid for my other council taxpayers but will be covered by the Executive. Now Bristow is saying the 1.5 million Scottish pensioners should on average be saving £300 on average. So somewhere Bristow is expecting the Executive to find £550 million. So the people of Scotland are going to have to pay for this somewhere.

So all this means that can only mean that the exempt students and non-paying children will have to take this cut from their budgets. Is that really what Bristow was saying?

It's About Fairness Not Higher Taxes Bristow

Bristow Muldoon MSP is to start leafletting homes in Livingston with lies about the effects on local people of replacing the council tax.

He is citing figures in the leaflet which do not add Council Tax unto Income Tax figures for the current situation. Therefore scewing the results which will erronerously show an increase in income tax as one of Labour's many stealth taxes, which would be replaced by a local income tax, has not been taken into consideration.

Maybe Mr Muldoon would care to enlighten the electorate what the changes in the average tax budget for all taxes income, council, fuel, VAT etc have been under Labour to the average household instead of grabbing unto one headline tax while ignoring the rest. The Lib Dem's Tax policy is to bring about fairer taxes to the average and less well off members of our society something that Labour have been failing to do in the 9 years they have controlled Westminster.

I look forward to seeing a copy of this leaflet and will let you know just how average Mr Muldoon is going to say an average household is. His colleague in Westminster Jim Divine, used an example of a couple in the top 30% of earners during last year's by-election.

114-1

No it's not the cricket score. Nor the odds of France breaking their world cup duck of four games without scoring in the World Cup, strange that their last goal was the winner in the 1998 final.

No its the 114 MSPs who yesterday voted in favour of the Borders' rail link. Bristow Muldoon did cause a bit of a ruckus with his doomed amendment. He was accused of politicising and electioneering as his proposals to do without the station at Stow and allow the contractors to not build the whole line as a job lot. This could have led to the line reaching only as far as Gorebridge in Labour held Midlothian and not continuing to Stow, Galashiels and Tweedbank in Liberal Democrat held seats.

When you consider that the Lib Dems had the restoration of the line as an election pledge in 2003, and Labour only took it on as part of the partnership agreement that sort, this would have been denying a sizeable number of voters who voted for the line being denied access to it.

Fortunately Bristow Muldoon did join the 113 other MSPs voting for and only Brian Monteith voted no.

Crack Open Over Track

I was getting ready for an afternoon watching football yesterday when I saw Bristow Muldoon MSP for Livingston trying to defend his ammendments to the Borders Railway.

For the record Mr Muldoon is convener of the Scottish Parliament's transport committee who had recommended the proposals without Mr Muldoon's ammendments after 3 years of consideration. His first ammendment is possibly one that is seen as a wrecking proposal to the whole scheme either the developers must commit to the whole project of not at all. The second is to do away with the proposed station at Stow.

Seeing as the provision of the Border's railway is part of the partnership agreement which Mr Muldoon's Labour party and the Liberal Democrats entered into in 2003 this act of possible sabotage of a much needed public trasport scheme in an area where public transport is seriously lacking is an act of rebellion against the Partnership Agreement. It also shows the true lack of depth to Labour's committment to fight climate change. If Mr Muldoon is not prepared to fund an essential public transport initiative from within goverment funds but pass the excess unto the council tax payers of the borders, why was the same not done to Edinburghers for the overspend on the Parliament Building?

If Bristow is to be even handed he must apply the same rules to the Aidrie-Bathgate rail line. However, as this would pass the burden of debt, in part, unto West Lothian council tax payers (ie his electorate) I doubt this will happen.

George Foulkes Taking Maths Lessons Off Salmond

It looks like poor George Foulkes former MP, former Chairman of Hearts FC has been taking maths lessons from Alex Salmond.

Mr Foulkes is looking forward to returning to politics for Labour on the Lothian list at next May's elections. This must spell disastor for some of the regions constituency MSPs in that event.

Even if Labour could maintain their second vote share from 2003 they would have to lose 3 constituencies before they pick up any seat off the Lothian list. So that would mean goodbye to Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow), Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) and Bristow Muldoon (Livingston). Of course if they are losing seats their second vote would also be affected as would that of other parties.

Interestingly the article in the Scotland on Sunday states that Foulkes will be helping Boyack and Martin Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) to retain their seats, no mention of West Lothian. Chisholm had an 18.84% majority and was the 19th safest of Labour's 46 consituencies in 2003. Is this a slip from the brain to the lip? Or does it show just how worried Labour really are about next May's elections?