More stealth taxation in the name of fuel poverty

Having worked his way through the full trick book of stealth taxes over the last ten years, including the most despicable thefts from peoples future old age, Brown has now hit on a new way of extracting cash for his schemes and trying to hide from the blame.

The problem of the impact of increasing fuel prices on those on low incomes, especially the old, is a very real problem. A decent pension ( of the type he has helped deny many people currently in their middle age ) would help.

But that's not very socialist. The money has to be targeted as people can't be allowed to make their own decisions in socialism.

So the government has hit on the wheeze of threatening power companies with more taxation unless they create a sort of privatised welfare system. They have caved an will spend over £200 million over the next few years - which will either be charged. So the government has created a redistributed taxation system by abusing its powers which will be of the balance sheet.

It has all the hale marks of Labour - dishonest, obtuse, and of course ultimately ineffective.

The answer is simple - increase the basic pension and link a component of it to pensioners real costs ( not CPI/RPI whatever fake measurements the government is try to impose its wages policy by ). But it would also mean higher taxes to pay for it - or less spending on the spectacular legions of guardinista's who the government employs to make up its client vote.