BBC Midlands Today covers our "Tax Cut for MPs" story

BBC Midlands Today ran a piece on the Tory MPs who wouldn't say if they'd benefited from a tax cut they had voted for. A clip of the piece is below.

The Tory MPs who won’t say if they voted themselves a tax cut

In April the top rate of tax was cut from 50p to 45p. UNISON (West Midlands) wrote to all 59 MPs in the West Midlands to ask them if they benefited from the tax cut. Most Tory MPs didn't respond!

All 24 Labour MPs replied. None of them supported the tax cut but only one, Geoffrey Robinson, said he benefited, but said he would be donating the benefit to charity

One of the two Lib MPs in the region, John Hemming, replied and said he benefited but said he would be donating the benefit to charity. The other Lib Dem, Lorely Burt did not reply.

Of the 33 Tory MPs, only six replied to say they supported the tax cut but did not personally benefit. Another five Conservative MPs replied and said they supported the tax cut but failed to say if they would gain; the remaining 22 Conservative MPs did not even bother to acknowledge the letter, despite being sent a reminder. What have the got to hide.

Regional Secretary Ravi Subramanian said:

“There was rightly a scandal about the cover up of MPs’ expenses and this is another looming scandal. How can it be right that Tory and Lib Dem MPs who voted for a tax cut won’t say if they personally gain?

The public, who are suffering austerity, have a right to know if MPs are being sleazy and voting to quietly line their own pockets.”

The MPs who failed to come clean are listed below. If your MP is there why not write to them and ask they why they won't say. What have they got to hide?

Andrew Mitchell - Sutton Coldfield

Chris Kelly - Dudley South

James Morris - Halesowen and Rowley Regis

Jesse Norman - Hereford and South Herefordshire

Bill Wiggin - North Herefordshire

Philip Dunne - Ludlow

Owen Paterson - North Shropshire

Daniel Kawczynski - Shrewsbury and Atcham

Mark Pritchard - The Wrekin

Lorely Burt - Solihull

Andrew Griffiths - Burton

Michael Fabricant - Lichfield

Gavin Williamson - South Staffordshire

Karen Bradley - Staffordshire Moorlands

Bill Cash - Stone

Christopher Pincher - Tamworth

Richard Shepherd - Aldridge-Brownhills

Aidan Burley - Cannock Chase

Jeremy Wright - Kenilworth and Southam

Caroline Spelman - Meriden

Mark Pawsey - Rugby

Nadhim Zahawi - Stratford-on-Avon (Update: on BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on 18 May he said he did not benefit)

Chris White - Warwick and Leamington

Paul Uppal - Wolverhampton South West

Sajid Javid - Bromsgrove

Peter Luff - Mid Worcestershire

Karen Lumley - Redditch

Mark Garnier - Wyre Forest

If you want to write to your MP an find their email address by going to www.theyworkforyou.com

The sample text you can use in your letter is below.

After 6 April 2013, anyone earning above £150,000 will see a reduction in the tax they pay from 50p to 45p in the pound on their earnings above that point.
 

I think this tax cut is both unfair, divisive and damaging. Unfair and divisive because it means those with the biggest pockets are not paying their fair share. Damaging, because it means less income to the government and more austerity which in turn continues to damage the economic recovery.
 

As your constituent I have two questions:
 

1.      Do you agree with the government policy to cut the top rate of tax from 50p to 45p in the pound?

2.      Are you personally likely to benefit from this tax cut? 

 

Yours etc

Tax cut for high earners - do any MPs gain?

Right now councils around the West Midlands are implementing massive cuts to jobs and services services. These cuts will be devastating for the workers who lose their jobs, devastating for vulnerable people who rely on services, and damaging for the local economy.

While these cuts to services are made, in April this Tory-led government will implement a tax cut for people earning over £150,000. It is patently unfair to give high-earners tax cut while vulnerable people see vital services cut.

Ravi Subramanian, the UNISON West Midlands Regional Secretary has written to all 59 MPs in the region to ask them if they support this unfair tax cut and whether they will personally benefit. We will be publishing the result of our survey in early April. See below for the text of the letter

THE TEXT OF THE LETTER THAT HAS BEEN SENT IS BELOW
 

Tax cut for high-earners
 

After 6 April 2013, anyone earning above £150,000 will see a reduction in the tax they pay from 50p to 45p in the pound on their earnings above that point.
 

The 115,000 UNISON members in the West Midlands working across the public services have told us they think this tax cut is both unfair, divisive and damaging. Unfair and divisive because it means those with the biggest pockets are not paying their fair share. Damaging, because it means less income to the government and more austerity which in turn continues to damage the economic recovery.
 

UNISON are asking three questions of all MPs in the region and we will be letting our members know who has responded and what we find out. Our questions are:
 

1.      Do you agree with the government policy to cut the top rate of tax from 50p to 45p in the pound?

2.      Are you personally likely to benefit from this tax cut?
 

3.      If you are likely to benefit do you intend to “pocket the gain” or will you being making a charitable donation equivalent to the gain you have made?
 

I would be grateful if you could reply by  Tuesday 19 March as we will be collating the responses ready to inform our members of the outcome of our survey in early April when the tax cut comes into force.

Yours sincerely

Ravi Subramanian

Regional Secretary
 

END OF THE LETTER

Opinion poll shows public increasingly blaming the coalition government for the cuts

An Ipsos MORI poll published on 18 January shows that the public increasingly blaming the coalition government for the cuts.

The tired old mantra from the Tory-led government that it was "the mess inherited from Labour" is beginning to wear thin, especially as people can see the choices this government is making. At the same time as attacking the Welfare State and public services the government are rather giving tax cuts to millionaires.

The graph above shows that public opinion has moved in the past nine months, but it also shows UNISON and all other people campaigning against these unfair cuts have more work to do to get more people to see the reality of who is to blame. We can't just assume because we know these cuts are unfair that other will too. We need to keep spreading the message. But at least this polling shows the message is getting through.

More info on the poll and the graph can be found on the Ipso MORI website here.