Brown at PMQs

AFTER HAVING some initial doubts, I am now certain that Matthew Parris is spot on about the Prime Minister - he actually thinks he's right.

I say this having watched PMQs today. Gordon Brown has yet again stated that despite hiking up their taxes, the poor are better off under a Labour government. Why? Because of tax credits.

I don't know about you, but there's something wrong with a man who makes millions of people - who were financially independent - reliant on the state and believes it to be a positive achievement. Of course he criticises Cameron for "opposing tax credits" but I would hope that even those on the far left of the Labour Party oppose tax credits in this instance. Tax credits have - allegedly - been used by this government to help people out of poverty, not to 'compensate' them for tax increases. However, we now know that this is one great big swindle. This is about making people reliant, not aiding their aspiration.

Although I oppose tax credits for obvious reasons (I believe they're a glass ceiling and an obstacle against aspiration), this man never ceases to surprise me. Whilst I struggle to comprehend how some socialist friends of mine still argue about the successes of tax credits, there's nothing more pernicious than taking people who want to lead full, independent lives, then forcing them to rely on the state.

This just goes to show that when Brown is talking about aspiration, he's a liar. He doesn't want you to succeed or be an individual. He wants those individuals and families who aspire to work themselves out of poverty to rely on the state, to be at the mercy of every government threat that "if they vote Tory you'll lose your tax credits".

I hope the 'tax grab' and 'compensation' goes down as one of the most callous acts of any Prime Minister against hard working British people. Who would have thought that a Labour Prime Minister would actually want to destroy the working class?