AS the Tories raise VAT, their tax of preference, to a new high we are told that it is solely because of the situation inherited from Labour.
However, as far back as 1692, when records began, every outgoing Government has left record debt to its successor.
Furthermore, looking at debt as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) instead of the headline total figure proves very revealing.
In 1997 John Major left Tony Blair with a public debt equal to 42.5 per cent of GDP.
Before the credit crunch hit in 2008, public debt was 37.5 per cent of GDP, despite Labour making record debt repayments of £41bn while in office.
The credit crunch and subsequent global recession weren’t the fault of the Labour Party.
The people to blame are greedy bankers, beloved of the Tories, who took unnecessary risks with our money for their gain.
Yet the Coalition does nothing to curb the obscene fat cat bonuses bankers are still receiving.
Is it possible this is because more than a quarter of current Conservative MPs and peers have links to banking or the financial sector?
C Kay, Bishop Auckland.
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