Tower Hamlets Liberal Democrats condemn Government hit to the poorest

1.58.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 8th Apr 2008

Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg MP

Gordon Brown's decision to abolish the 10p rate of income tax has been attacked by Liberal Democrats across the country. Councillor Stephanie Eaton, Leader of the Lib Dem group on Tower Hamlets Council has condemned the changes saying: "We know how difficult it is for people earning low pay to survive, and these tax changes mean that it is even harder. The government should be ashamed of itself. Tower Hamlets has some of the poorest people in the country and recent tax changes will make many of them poorer."

Party Leader Nick Clegg said the tax change was a "defining moment" which left the Labour Government with no right to talk about fairness in British society anymore. The Treasury select committee, which has a majority of Labour MPs, has attacked the changes too, highlighting that the combined effect of cutting of the basic rate of income tax from 22p to 20p in the pound, and the raising of the lower 10p band to 20p, would be that childless single people earning less than £18,500 would lose up to £232 a year.