| |
|
Who's Online |
|
We have 51 guests online |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Upcoming Events |
Warnock Book Launch - Regina- Wed, Jun 25th, 2008, @7:00pm- 9:00pm
|
Warnock Book Launch - Saskatoon- Fri, Jun 27th, 2008, @7:00pm- 9:00pm
|
Better biking brainstorm- Thu, Jul 3rd, 2008, @7:00pm- 9:00pm
|
Rainbow Youth Yard Sale- Fri, Jul 18th, 2008, @10:00am- 3:00pm
|
Rainbow Youth Yard Sale- Sat, Jul 19th, 2008, @10:00am- 3:00pm
|
Better Biking Brainstorming Session- Thu, Aug 14th, 2008, @7:00pm- 9:00pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Pathway :: Home
|
England Swings Strong to the Right -- Green Taxes Highly Unpopular |
|
|
|
|
Contributed by John W. Warnock
|
|
Saturday, 03 May 2008 |
Belfast - Voters in England and Wales gave Gordon Brown and New Labour a major kick in the ass in local elections on May Day. Labour fell to third place, 20 points behind the Tories. The public's distain for the right wing policies of New Labour even brought down Ken Livingstone, the progressive mayor of London. While labour supporters stayed home, the well-off went to the polls in record numbers.
One of the key issues has been the imposition of Green taxes. A major poll by Opinium reports that 70 per cent of Britons are opposed to green taxes, consumption taxes like those placed on gasoline and energy use. The widespread feeling is that they fall heaviest on the middle class and the poor, those least able to pay. They pose no deterrent to those in the higher income brackets.
Revolt in the suburbs In London the voter turnout was very high in the suburban areas, some of which voted four to one for the right wing Tory candidate for mayor, Boris Johnson. In his campaign to make London cleaner and less congested, Livingstone emphasized better train and subway service, doubled the number of buses, and placed a congestion tax on those in the suburbs who drive to work. Recently, his administration added a special tax on gas guzzlers. But those in the high income suburbs want to drive their expensive cars to work, not take the public transit. The fall of Red Ken Ken Livingstone was the most popular political leader in London in 2000. He wanted the Labour nomination for Mayor. But this was blocked by Tony Blair, who had created a centralized nomination process. New Labour was determined to purge the party of candidates who were either socialist or feminist. Red Ken ran as an independent with the support of the left wing of Labour, an independent socialist coalition and the Green Party. He won and began introducing progressive and green policies. Most recently his administration adopted regulations which require any new housing development project to include 50 per cent affordable housing. He was highly critical of the Blair government for cutting off spending on social housing. The Livingstone administration adopted a strong policy on anti-racism, which angered many older Britans. During the London subway bombings in 2005, he declared that this was due to the British foreign policy of imperialism, colonialism and support for U.S. war policy. It was not a case of a "war of civilizations" between Christians and Muslims. Tory supporters and Tony Blair were outraged. Today the editorial writers are fearful that the progressive changes in London will be reversed by the new Tory mayor. Many believe that this signals the end of Labour government in the next election, which must be held within two years. John W. Warnock is a Regina political economist currenty in Belfast. |
green taxes
Written by donovaka on 2008-05-09 09:43:16
amazing isnt it the innovative ways to make ripping off the populace look progressive? |
Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. Powered by AkoComment 2.0! |
|
Last Updated ( Saturday, 03 May 2008 )
|
All logos and trademarks in this site are property of their respective owners. Opinions expressed in articles within this site are those of their owners and may not reflect the opinion of ActUpInSask.org, its staff, or its associates.
|
|
|
