The division between the haves and have nots remains as great as ever. Official figures show that the gap between the rich and the poor was greater in 2007-08 that it was in 1996-97. Under Labour, the richest fifth of the population earned over 5 times as much as the poorest fifth. The 5 million poorest households had an income of just £89 a week.
To add insult to injury, the least well off fifth of households paid a higher proportion of their income in tax than any other group. The least well off fifth paid an effective tax rate of 38.7%. The richest fifth had an effective tax rate of 34.9%. Charlie believes this was unfair.
Meanwhile, the number of people doing absolutely nothing at all was at record levels. This is officially known as "economic inactivity" - which in reality means workless. Almost 7.9 million people of working age were economically inactive. A staggering number. That was 20% of the working age population. Locally, there were 13,000 workless people - one in four of the working age population.
Charlie believes this could not be justified under any concept of fairness in a decent society. Worse yet, social mobility fell under Gordon Brown. Under Labour if you were born into poverty you were more likely to live and die in poverty than before.
It is different under the Conservatives. The Conservatives have been reforming welfare to make work pay. They are introducing universal credit, to make benefits simpler. The conservatives have introduced work programmes to get people off benefits and into work. They are tackling benefit culture and are helping troubled families to break the cycle of poverty.
Charlie Elphicke wants to see a Britain that we can all be part of, where we help everybody to grow and achieve their potential.
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cannot disagree with your sentiments chas, you could have stretched the figure about "richer and poorer gap" back to the sixties though!! both our main failed parties have contrived to get us to this situation. i have to disagree with your last highlighted paragraph. tax credits have given more incentive than anything before to encourage people to move from benefits to work. before you reply about the over complicated system, yes , i agree, but it is still putting money into pockets of previously exploited low paid workers.
- howard mcsweeney
It is all very well banging on about unemployment and economic inactivity it's all boils down to the same thing - there are not enough people making a financial contribution. In fact there are more individuals taking than contributing (National Statistics 16.09.09). You need to remove the incentive of long term benefit and benefit style payments to the indigenous workshy population of Britain. This will impact socially on Britain in a number of fundamental ways. It won't necessary stop us from repeating ourselves eg Victoria gin houses are the modern day equivalent of binge drinking but the working, contributing population of Britain will no longer feel that they are supporting the workshy.
- Diane Cawsey
Thanks Diane, your points are well made. I don't see it quite like this myself - I look at it the other way round. People on welfare are having their potential stunted. They deserve to have a chance to do well, to be encouraged into work. There they will find dignity, self respect, a wider circle of friends and they will have more money too. Everyone wins - rather than a cost in benefits, there are more tax revenues to help fund the public services we need. So we get to the same place I think, but for different reasons!
- Charlie Elphicke
I have to admit, I feel I was duped as does most of our family in to voting in a Conservative / Lib Dem Coalition and we will be voting Labour next time. The housing development by Ward Homes in Sholden is still going ahead so much so that they are digging the field. I am very unhappy with government policies which are hitting me hardest thanks to your government and cuts I am out of work and have been unable to get a suitable job in my field. Yet I am expected to pay towards a budget deficit from cuts to my housing benefit, cuts to any individual help tailored to my skill base to get me back in to work from a government that simply doesn't care. I don't think the people of Deal will be fooled next time. I will NOT vote conservative again
- Gabriella Coscia
I think you need to open up your eyes, Charlie and stop living in this fantasy world you and most of your fellow MPs live in. You are on about the impoverished finding "dignity, self respect, and a wider circle of friends..." I am not saying that all people who are on benefits choose to live that way but I can assure the majority of them do choose that way of life. They are given money for housing, food, having children, etc so why on Earth would they ever want to give that up?! It seems to me that those who NEED to be on benefits, i.e. people with illness, elderly, are the ones who have a hard time getting those benefits. You choose to cut the winter heating benefit for the elderly but yet from what I can see there is no cap on benefit for having children. Jobseekers Allowance is given to students at university level who choose to drop out and not continue their education. The government makes it easy for benefit cheats to exist. I also think it is a bit ironic how we have people "serving" us (and I use that term loosely) in the government who truly have no clue as to what is going on or what the real needs of the people are. You reward the scum and punish those who have either worked their whole lives and paid toward benefits that they might need later on in their lives or are ill and have no other means to survive other than benefits. Maybe you should watch the show Saints and Scroungers and take a few cues from them. They might teach you guys a thing or two. You give no help to your ex-mil guys and girls. They deserve the utmost respect and help. There are no schemes at the moment that help them get back into the civilian work world. Ok, they are given a small amount of money to help them get a "trade" in the civilian world but I can assure you that that little amount of money puts a very small dent in the tuition needed to learn a trade. Maybe you should take a cue from the Americans and the Montgomery G.I. Bill that is offered to EVERY soldier, marine, seaman, and airman that give up their freedoms to serve their country. It gives them money for a 4 year degree plus gives them money towards their school fees/supplies and monthly living costs. Instead, you find some of you ex-mil on benefits or having to work abroad, away from their families and friends, to make ends meet. Maybe you guys should give your extra "living allowances" that you get to try and help this economy. Why not do like you guys did in your uni days and all bunk up together in communal apartments. I mean most of you know each other as you all went to the same universities and were in the same social networks. Its obvious that Tories and Lib Dems are out for one thing and one thing only...yourselves. Eat a little humble pie and then take another look around and really see what is going on and what being an MP is really about...helping the people that pay taxes and pay your salary.
- Victoria
Hold on to your hats, if we continue to overpopulate this little island we may see a return to the work-houses, press-gangs and yes, national service. But, with the MOD cutting full time soldiers to replace them with the TA - you remember the part time, volunteer army thats supposed to keep the home fires burning and secure perhaps we have already? All they need now is issue a conscription to the TA for every 18-21yo billed as "see the world" and we are there.... The handful of haves and the MAJORITY of have-nots is pretty reminiscent to the feudal system isn't it Charlie? I wonder how soon it will be before the people trade starts up and serfdom returns, I certainly wouldn't be enjoying this freedom of speech.... Incidentally what has happened to my other forum entries? too inflammatory or truthful to be published? How do we reclaim the billions that a handful have, and make it earn-able to the have-nots? That would need some form of gainful employment? How can that be mustered when we have no industry, almost no services or energy suppliers or trade that is British any more? When was the last time you saw Sheffield Steel or Made In Britain stamped on something? I guess we could always mine our coal............ Good luck fixing broken Britain - when the next peasants revolt happens perhaps you could call on the TA to keep you safe?
- Ian Palmer
Perhaps we should take a look at those companies/corporations who post enormous profits and yet pay their workers so little that they need various benefits to enable them to live a very basic life. In effect, we, the tax payers, are subsidising these large companies and boosting their bottom line. Why? I hear nothing about this from the government.
- Eleanor Inch