Launching the Labour Party Manifesto 2010 this morning in Birmingham, Brown said the financial crisis changed the economy in the same way the 11 September terrorist attacks changed the world’s view on national security.
“This is the first post-crisis vote and it’s the most important in a generation,” he said. “We must get the big decisions right now.”
Brown said his party’s priority was to ensure the recovery and then secure a “different, fairer recovery. “You, the British people, will be better off,” he said.
A freeze on Income Tax forms a central tenet of the manifesto but, when pressed during question time whether he can categorically rule out a VAT rise, Brown did not. He said the proposed increase in National Insurance (NI) will pay for improvements in public services.
“Our deficit reduction plans add up without having to put up VAT,” he said, adding the same cannot be said of the Conservatives, who say they will reverse NI rises.
Brown also pledged a new international bank levy, as outlined initially in last month’s Budget.
He said he was confident other countries will join in applying a multi-lateral levy, adding the Government has been in discussion with Germany, France and the US.
“It [the banking system] is global as a system so there needs to be global action,” he said.
He said he wanted to create a Britain where “banks serve the people and not the other way round through an international banking tax”.
Brown also emphasised his commitment to halving the deficit over four years. This would be achieved, he said, by changing taxes, public spending reductions and growth.
Key manifesto pledges:
- No rise in Income Tax rate
- New global banks levy
- No Stamp Duty for first-time buyers on homes below £250,000
- Raise minimum wage in line with earnings
- Right to recall MPs
- Referendums on democratic House of Lords and changing voting system
