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Brown's tax pledge as parties clash on spending

By Channel 4 News

Updated on 07 April 2010

Exclusive: Gordon Brown pledges to keep the basic rate of income tax at 20p in an interview with Channel 4 News, as the party leaders clash over spending plans at Prime Minister's Questions.

Prime Minister's Questions

In an interview with Gary Gibbon, Gordon Brown said the Labour election manifesto would keep the basic income tax rate at 20p.

"The income tax rate has come down from 23p to 20p and we've kept it at 20p and that is what we will pledge to do in our manifesto," he said.

However he refused to say if there would be a repeat of pledges made in the 1997, 2001 and 2005 manifestos to freeze ALL income tax rates.

He would only say: "You'll see our pledges when we make them and they will be pretty clear."

The prime minister also declined to rule out a rise in VAT.

"Nobody's going to make a pledge on everything?" he said.

But Mr Brown's tax pledge was described as a "lame gesture" by the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable, who has promised to raise the income tax threshold to £10,000.

"If you want a fairer tax system that puts money back in the pockets of millions of people, the only party that will do that is the Liberal Democrats," he said.

For more Channel 4 News coverage of Vote 2010
- Leaders trade blows over tax in final PMQs
- Vote 2010: Live blog - 7 April
- Vote 2010: the tools of the new media election

Earlier the Conservative leader David Cameron pledged to put the government's planned national insurance rise at the heart of its campaign.

The party said it had received backing from a further 30 business leaders praising their pledge to part-reverse Labour's planned one per cent rise in national insurance contributions (NI), due next April.

The new signatories included Corus chief executive Kirby Adams, Northern Foods chief executive Stefan Barden, Reed Elsevier chairman Anthony Habgood and Jewson chief executive Peter Hindle.

During a speech in Bolton, Mr Cameron described the planned rise as "the wrong tax at the wrong time for the wrong reason."

Rowdy clashes
National Insurance was also raised in a feisty final prime ministers questions of the parliament.

Mr Cameron accused the prime minister of imposing a "jobs tax".


"The prime minister has made the decision to introduce a jobs tax which will kill the recovery," said Mr Cameron to huge cheers from his party's MPs," he said.

"This morning on GMTV he said business leaders who oppose this decision have been deceived. Is he saying he knows more about job creation than business leaders who employ almost one million people in this country?"

But Mr Brown accused the Conservatives of threatening to undermine frontline public services, such as schools and hospitals with what he described as a £6bn a year spending cut.

"There is a clear choice," he said. "We can put the national insurance up and therefore protect our schools, our hospitals and our policing, or we can do what the Conservatives traditionally do - that is put our schools, police and health services at risk."

Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, accused both his rivals of colluding to block reform of political funding.

"We all remember 1997 - the hope and promise of this new government," he said.

"Look at them now. It is over. You have failed. It's time to go."

Education demand
Mr Brown later took part in a "People's PMQs" in which questions were submitted by the public via internet sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Labour's own.

The questions were put to him by former Labour MP Oona King in a small auditorium at MSN's offices in Victoria Street, London, and the event was streamed live on the Labour website.

The prime minister was asked about the "negative campaigning" against him by the Tories.

"I don't really like negative campaigning," he said.


"I prefer to talk about what you believe and what you want to do."

But the prime minister was heckled by an irate father for failing to offer a choice in education.
 
"Can you tell me why my children can't get into any state schools in our area", Ben Butterworth, from Clapham, repeatedly challenged the Prime Minister as he emerged from the Centrepoint tower in central London.
 
Mr Brown glanced briefly at Mr Butterworth but did not answer him, before being driven hastily away from the scene.
 
Mr Butterworth said his family were having to move out of London to find better schooling for his three year old son.
 
"We can't get into any schools of our choice, and choice is what Labour has been promising for 13 years" he added.

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