UPDATE! Brown's tax changes in disarray - Clegg

9.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 28th Apr 2008

Commenting on the Government's announcement of concessions over its decision to abolish the 10p tax rate, Liberal Democrat Leader, Nick Clegg said: "Gordon Brown's tax changes are now in total disarray."

He went on to say:

"In a last-gasp attempt to appease its own backbenchers, the Government has cobbled together a set of half promises which will not even be properly revealed for another seven months.

"The fact remains that 5.3 million people are already worse off as a result of a cynical decision to punish the poor in order to grab some easy headlines.

"People who have just seen their tax rates doubled are unlikely to be comforted by the reassurance that the Government is going to to tinker with an overly complex and failing tax credit system, which people under 25 aren't even entitled to.

"The Prime Minister is desperately shifting in the wind as he tries to avert political meltdown. If he has any sense his next climbdown should be over the needless attempt to introduce detention without charge for 42 days."

In a further development Nick Clegg has written to Labour MPs urging them not to be bribed by the Government's 'last minute smoke and mirror promises' and instead vote for the Liberal Democrat amendment against the plan to double the 10p rate of tax.

The unspecified measures announced last week by the Government won't come into effect until November at the earliest, and will not help all of the millions of people affected by the original change.

Analysis of official statistics shows that at least 430,000 people will see their tax rate double in the North West of England, whilst changes will affect at least 330,000 people in the East of England.

In his email to Labour MPs, Nick Clegg said:

"I strongly hope that, for the benefit of many thousands of your constituents, you will join us in a cross-party effort to defeat this punitive tax change.

"There has still been no commitment to ensure that all people made worse off by this tax rise will be fully compensated.

"Regardless of whether the Treasury back-dates any future compensation payment, this will still mean low paid workers will be out of pocket for at least the next seven months.

"Parliament should send a clear message that we do not believe that the poor should be targeted to pay for tax cuts for the better off."

The Finance Bill will be debated in parliament this week.

Norwich Liberal Democrat Leader Brian Watkins has also criticised the changes "we now have a Labour government that has pushed up taxes on people with low incomes to pay for tax cuts for the better off. Labour is robbing taxpayer Peter to pay taxpayer Paul" he said.