Gordon’s tax headache

Further evidence that the PM as presidential thesis is not entirely convincing

Recently we have been revising the supposed presidentialisation of the office of UK Prime Minister. During the discussion we have looked in detail at Michael Foley’s theory of spatial leadership and we’ve arrived at the conclusion that the idea of a full blown British presidency seems fine if applied to Prime Minister who enjoy a large majority and support of their party and Cabinet.

Prime Ministers at other times experience difficulty in distancing themselves from the normal processes of government and appearing as outsiders via the utilisation of skilful media techniques. And as Thatcher’s dominant premiership was followed by Major, who seemed to lurch from one crisis to another, likewise Blair’s is followed by the calamity that is Gordon Brown’s reign at No 10.

I don’t want to go into the ins and outs of the income implication of the abolition of the 10p starting rate of tax, rather the impact the handling of the issue has had on the Prime Minister’s authority.

The policy was, of course, announced in Gordon Brown’s final budget as Chancellor and one wonders why more fuss wasn’t made over the issue by MPs then. Whatever, Labour backbenchers threatened to revolt over it since they argued that it would negatively affect millions of those on the lowest income. Brown and his ministerial team responded to this by arguing that many would be better off. That was a major tactical error. Arguing that some households would be better off doesn’t mitigate the fact that MPs would have to tour their constituencies facing many of the party’s traditional supporters who could not get their head round the essential fact that whilst some may well benefit, others wouldn’t. The threat of a backbench revolt initially saw government ministers try to argue the case and then gradually they have climbed down with promises of a number of concessions. The final concession is a promise to backdate the loss of income for those most badly affected, and this has caused the leader of the revolt, Frank Field, to withdraw his timetabled amendment this week.

Gordon Brown has recently reorganised his team of special advisers at Downing Street following the fiasco over the election that never was and the dithering over Northern Rock. But the presentation of this tax change policy has been a disaster. It makes one wonder why Brown, an amazingly intelligent man and skilful politician has got himself in this mess. This follows soon after the mini-PR disaster that was Gordon Brown’s “is he, isn’t he?” with regard to appearance at the opening ceremony in Beijing. For a party that was so glad to get rid of Tony Blair there must have been an element of schadenfreude yesterday when the ex-PM was in the Commons yesterday to unveil a portrait of himself, and many Labour backbenchers in attendance were heard to utter how these kinds of policy gaffes would never have happened under him.