Class War

Picture this: A Lab-Lib coalition is in power. In their first 100 days they announce a 5% increase in the top rate of income tax; 'death duties' will be increased, although the threshold for payment increased, Capital gains tax will be increased to reflect a re-nationalisation of the railways as the first step in a quest to re-nationalise all the 'commanding heights' of the economy; a 'second-home' tax is on the cards.

The Prime Minister comes out and says that they have decided to go to war on 'real benefit cheats'. Those companies and individuals who avoid paying their fair share of taxes. Loop-holes will be closed. Government contracts will be unavailable to companies who are headquartered in tax havens. "The real threat to the economy, " says the Prime Minister, "comes from those who can pay but won't pay."

Fox hunting will remain banned and the Police will be expected to enforce the law properly. There will be a new set of laws on media ownership. No one who owns a newspaper would be allowed to own a television station. A windfall tax will be introduced on the profits of banks in order to pay for the cost of bailing them out.

What would the press be saying? They'd be calling it a 'class war'. There would be heated articles about how those people who create wealth will be forced out of the country. Would The Sun be running a campaign to name and shame tax cheats? I suspect not. Partly because Rupert Murdoch and News International would be one of the first names on the list.

So why is no one calling the Con-Dem's cuts a 'class war'? They are clearly and obviously going to affect those people who are worst off. The poorest regions of the country will be hit hardest by what is clear an ideological war on the state dressed up as an urgent need to reduce the deficit.

If there is a class war in this country it is a war by the rich on the poor. Not the other way around. How can the wealthy be afraid? There are 20+ millionaires in the current cabinet. I suspect their understanding of the problems facing the average British citizen, let alone the poorest people out there, is limited.

So can we stop being polite about what's going on and call it what it really is: a class war. The rich have decided to punish the poor for the crimes of the rich. Never in the history of human history has so much been taken from so many by so few.