Believe me, my comments do reflect my views

Apr 5 2008 by Tomos Livingstone, Western Mail

IT MUST rank as the most eyebrow-arching comment ever to pass from the lips of a minister of the Crown.

Gerry Sutcliffe, the junior Culture Minister in charge of pub licensing, was in a tight spot after telling a magazine he didn’t agree with Government policy on taxing beer and sprits.

Normally ministers who publicly depart from Government policy start to move towards the exit door but Mr Sutcliffe had a novel get-out clause. “My comments do not reflect my views,” he said. Oh dear.

But aside from ludicrous lengths to which politicians are willing to go to test public credulity, the saga of the Sutcliffe sound-bite tells us a good deal about the instability of the Labour party under Gordon Brown

Once admired (or loathed, depending on preference) for its ruthless discipline, Labour now seems unable to put a lid on dissent.

Mr Sutcliffe’s complaint about alcohol duty isn’t, in fact, the most interesting revolt going on in the parliamentary party; far more serious are the complaints over income tax.

This weekend the old 10p tax band (introduced by this Government) is scrapped, and the 22p basic rate is cut to 20p.

Spun as a tax cut, in reality if you’re earning less than £18,500 you’re likely to actually pay more in income tax.

This change was announced last year in Gordon Brown’s last budget, and old hands like then-Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell spotted the con straight away.

But the impact has only just started to filter into Labour MPs’ consciousness, and more than 20 have signed Commons motions decrying the policy.

Just imagine Labour MPs criticising Gordon Brown over tax when he was Chancellor; it just wouldn’t have happened. Nia Griffith, the personable and independent- minded MP for Llanelli, even had the courage to tackle Mr Brown about it in a meeting of Labour MPs this week.

Most worrying for Mr Brown is that it provides yet another unwelcome parallel with the John Major years. It was the constant sniping over policies (not personality) from his own side, right up the ministerial ranks, that wore him down.

Meanwhile dark mutterings come from inside Downing Street about Stephen Carter, the former head of Ofcom now running things as the Prime Minister’s principal adviser.

Mr Carter has come in pushing a private sector-style new broom approach, letting it be known that several old hands aren’t up to it.

But he little realises that politics, and especially Brownite politics, are based on loyalty, conviction and even more loyalty.

The fear in the Brown camp now is that poor local election results next month may embolden someone higher up the food chain than Ms Griffith or Mr Sutcliffe to speak out.

And if that happens I don’t expect “my comments do not reflect my views“ will wash a second time around.