tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985429043801017839.post4577735670438726558..comments2023-10-27T07:50:27.411+01:00Comments on Next Left: Labour's record on poverty and inequalityTom Hampsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05917325958130851128noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985429043801017839.post-33334708230274917382009-10-12T11:01:32.682+01:002009-10-12T11:01:32.682+01:00Dear AD627: fine, if you want to compare 1979 to 1...Dear AD627: fine, if you want to compare 1979 to 1997, then the Ginis are 0.25 and 0.33 - yes, there is a whole 0.01 difference if you take 1997 as the point of comparision rather than the 'early 1990s'. I think you'll find that this still counts as an almost 'unparalleled' rise in inequality historically and transnationally (I think New Zealand, pursuing Thatcherite policies, also saw a huge rise in inequality over this period). (By the way, my comparison between 1979 and the 'early 1990s' is the one made in the IFS reports - I was reflecting that, not 'cherry-picking' - for, as you can now see, it makes hardly a jot of difference whether the comparison is between 1979 and 1997 or between 1979 and the 'early 1990s'.)<br /><br />On your point about the direction of redistribution under New Labour: Have you checked this claim by looking at any research? <br /><br />Ian: I am not saying Labour's record is great or even satisfactory. I am just pointing out what the record IS - and that it almost certainly does include making our economy less unequal than it would be under the policies of the previous Conservative government.Stuart Whitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05090728365798166746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985429043801017839.post-28591998847087178622009-10-09T21:31:05.564+01:002009-10-09T21:31:05.564+01:00What is the relevance of comparing inequality meas...What is the relevance of comparing inequality measures from 1979 to those of “the early 1990s” in assessing the record of the Tories in government? The last Tory government lasted until 1997. Your choice smacks of cherry-picking the evidence to support your assertion.<br /><br />This government has certainly been redistributive. Unfortunately, that redistribution has been largely from those in gainful employment to those on benefits or in public employment. Such redistribution is clearly not sustainable.AD627https://www.blogger.com/profile/16932512541066639278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985429043801017839.post-34163842459124321032009-10-09T19:09:39.884+01:002009-10-09T19:09:39.884+01:00labour were in office for 10 years before they had...labour were in office for 10 years before they had to face an economic downturn. Tax revenues were booming, government spending ballooned. And a supposedly 'progressive' party didn't manage to reduce the gini measure one bit. That is their great failure. <br /><br />Would the conservatives have done differently? I don't know. But labour were voted in to reduce inequality- and they haven'tIan Simcoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01518825067469269377noreply@blogger.com