 |  |
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has admitted making "mistakes" in abolishing the 10p rate of income tax.
He told the BBC the government "didn't cover as well as we should have" losses to low earners without children and pensioners aged 60 to 64.
Mr Brown said he was "listening" and "learning" as prime minister.
'Time needed' for 10p tax changes | |
| Chancellor Alistair Darling has been accused of incompetency by the Conservatives The chancellor has admitted "it will take time" to finalise compensation details for people who lost out when the 10p income tax rate was scrapped. Alistair Darling told MPs he would wait until this autumn's pre-Budget report to outline the package, as changes to the tax system "can be quite complex". Concessions were offered to some low earners and pensioners under 65 amid fears of a rebellion by Labour MPs. Conservative leader David Cameron said the affair was "a complete shambles". "Even when it comes to making a U-turn, this government is incompetent," he added. "With this prime minister and with this chancellor you have always got to check the smallprint." The abolition of the 10p rate was part of Gordon Brown's final Budget as chancellor, before he became prime minister last year, and came into effect earlier this month. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7364344.stm | |
Brown denies being 'pushed about' | |
| Prime Minister Gordon Brown defends the changes The prime minister has defended the decision to compensate people who have lost money from tax changes, saying he was not "pushed about" by Labour MPs. Gordon Brown told the BBC it was important to "judge what is right at every point". Earlier, facing a possible Labour rebellion over the abolition of the 10p income tax rate, the government promised more help to low earners. The Conservatives accused Mr Brown of "weakness, dithering and indecision". http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7362283.stm | |
Secretly filmed footage of alleged attack victims in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe is trying "to steal the election", over three weeks after the disputed poll, Foreign Secretary David Miliband says.
In a strongly-worded House of Commons statement, he said: "No-one can have any faith in this recount."
He said the "ludicrously slow rate" of the count fuelled suspicion that Mugabe "is seeking to reverse the results".
The world is witnessing "a charade of democracy", he said. The outcome of a partial recount has been delayed.
Electoral officials began the recount in 23 out of 210 seats on Saturday and said it would take three days.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7359104.stm
 Mr Brown is trying to win over Labour backbenchers |
Gordon Brown has met Labour MPs to outline the government's plans to look at helping those worst hit by the abolition of the 10p tax rate.
He was trying to head off a backbench rebellion by MPs angry that millions of low paid workers are worse off after changes in last year's Budget.
Earlier MPs were told an inquiry into child poverty would be widened to include those affected.
The Tories and Lib Dems are both calling for a compensation package.
BBC political editor Nick Robinson said the fact Mr Brown had chosen to address the Parliamentary Labour Party showed he had accepted he had a problem - but many MPs wanted to know what he would do to compensate people who were left worse off.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7359278.stmChancellor Alistair Darling on the 10p tax cut
The chancellor has ruled out a U-turn on axing the 10p tax rate, saying it would be "totally irresponsible" to "unravel...or rewrite" the Budget now.
But Alistair Darling told the BBC he "would return" in future Budgets to help those hit by the move.
Critics should look at it alongside tax credit and pension changes which had helped lower earners, he said.
But leading Labour rebel Frank Field said promises of "something undefined" in the future did not go far enough.
And Conservative leader David Cameron said Mr Darling should "get off his backside" and get into the Treasury to rewrite his Budget.
Mr Cameron told BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend that the Conservatives would be "trying to get the government to stop and think again" on a "pre-meditated tax grab" on 5.3 million people.
 Mr Brown believes the row has been exaggerated by the media |
Downing Street has dismissed calls for a rethink over the abolition of the 10p income tax rate and denied it will offer concessions to critics.
Six ministerial aides have urged Prime Minister Gordon Brown to help 5.3m low-paid workers who have lost out.
The Commons Treasury committee has said childless single people earning under £18,500 will lose up to £232 a year.
However, government sources have indicated there may be help later for those worst affected by the tax change.
'Watch this space'
Mr Brown is said to be "furious" that protests against the decision overshadowed his visit to the US this week, BBC political correspondent Norman Smith said.
Earlier, the Treasury denied reports the chancellor was preparing a climbdown over the abolition of the 10p tax band.
Gordon Brown interview in full
Gordon Brown has said he will not be diverted from the "right long-term decisions" for the UK's economy even if they are "unpopular in the short term".
The prime minister told the BBC he wanted to show people worried about homes and jobs the economy was "safe for them over the next few months".
He spoke after a Downing Street meeting with bank chiefs to discuss ways to boost confidence in the housing market.
The Bank of England has also put £15bn more into the banking system.
The move is an effort to improve liquidity in the financial markets.
 George Osborne has attacked Gordon Brown over the economy |
Shadow Chancellor George Osborne will pin the blame for the present economic crisis on Gordon Brown, in a speech to the Policy Exchange think tank.
"At the root of the problem is the failure of the government's economic policy," he will say.
A recent poll suggests 68% of voters are "not confident at all" in Labour's ability to handle the crisis.
Mr Brown has called on banks and building societies to pass on recent interest rate cuts to borrowers.
The Financial Times/Harris survey suggested the prime minister was less trusted on the issue of handling the country's economic problems than any other major Western European leader.
Mr Osborne will say that Mr Brown had "rested his claim to competence on three pillars - stability, prudence and competitiveness".
|  We have been supporting the system - through the Bank of England an extra £15bn has been put in to help them get through this difficult period  Alistair Darling |
He will add: "Instead, after a decade of worldwide growth, we have ended up with housing boom followed by bust, spending followed by debt, and a country finding it more and more difficult to compete.
"The Labour Party are not simply attacking their prime minister's style, they are attacking his decisions - the 10p income tax rise on the low paid, the failure to control the debt bubble, the inability to lead the country in difficult times.
"And so Labour is fighting itself instead of fighting for the country."
