Wednesday 23 October 2013

Labour`s industrial policy,27/09/13

Your editorial asks how the Labour party can develop an industrial policy which will not only encourage "good behaviour", but also simultaneously be  different from the gesture at fairness made by the Tories and the Lib Dems.(Talking loud,saying something,26/09/13) Martin  Kettle points out that Miliband, rather than putting himself on the "side of small businesses, against big ones",would do better to "focus far more" on what makes a good business, and send out an unambiguous message to the electorate.(The book that matters to Miliband is not McBride`s,26/09/13)
      A start can be made by outlining the main requirements of a "good" business, which the Mail and Murdoch press cannot refute: a living wage to all employees, and no bonus culture; correct amount of corporation tax paid; young people employed and trained, with effective apprenticeship schemes. Companies which abide by these "rules" would pay 20% corporation tax, as opposed to the 30% paid by the rest.   

        Clarity is the key, and when allied to transparency, will be a far more effective electoral tool than discussions about "progressive capitalist programmes". There could not be a better time to launch such a policy, when the government is busy with its objections to fair energy prices, the bonus cap and the legality of Europe`s financial transaction tax, and its selling to its City backers, of taxpayer-owned banks and Royal Mail. The country needs to be reminded that what this coalition government believes in is alien to the beliefs of the majority of British people!

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