David Cameron cast himself as the defender of some of Britain's poorest families today as he promised to lead a campaign to overturn the government's decision to abolish the 10p starting rate of tax.
He put the issue at the heart of the local and London mayoral election campaigns as he indicated that he will try to use a vote in parliament to get the decision reversed.
At a news conference, the Conservative leader accused the government of "hitting some of Britain's poorest families" with the tax changes, which come into effect this week. He claimed that ministers were "kicking people when they're down".
A few hours later one of Gordon Brown's key cabinet allies, Ed Miliband, took to the airwaves to reject the Tory charge.
He said the income tax changes were part of an overall package in the 2007 budget that benefited 16 million households, with the biggest gains going to the poorest 30% of people in the country.
The Tories have produced a leaflet saying how much workers could lose from the abolition of the 10p rate and they intend to make this a major issue in their campaign for next month's local elections.
Gordon Brown also faces a backlash from his own MPs over the changes, which were today criticised in a report from the Labour-dominated Treasury select committee.
In his last budget as chancellor, Brown cut the basic rate of income tax from 22p in the pound to 20p. But the cut was almost entirely paid for by abolishing the 10p starting rate.
Around 40% of households will benefit and another 40% will not be affected. But more than 5m households with an income of less than £18,500 a year will lose out.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/apr/07/economy.labourOpportunistic Tory vermin!
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