Bristle 24

Issue 24 of local radical 'zine, Bristle is now out. I recomend it, not least because I have an article in it (excuse the shameless plug) - but is is a very good issue with loads of great articles on 10 years of Neo-Labour. Here's an extract;

...Back to the 1997 manifesto pledge; "There will be no increase in the basic or top rates of income tax." Compare this with old Labour's 1983 manifesto on taxes, “We shall reform taxation so that the rich pay their full share and the tax burden on the lower paid is reduced." It is clear how the party has abandoned its socialist roots in the pursuit of power. Neo-Labour have managed to ditch that old media spun image with one of fiscal prudence, but the reality is they are still a party of tax-and-spend. It's just now its done in a big-business friendly way. Big business has a number of powerful lobby groups to ensure that the government does as it's told. For example a Guardian investigation in 2002 accused the government of giving concessions, not to imposing the correct penalties and not investigating loss of potential taxes of the largest multinational in the UK. This favoritism was estimated to have cost £20 billion in tax revenue – and guess who makes up the shortfall when it comes to buying new bombs for Iraq? Oh yes. Us.

See http://www.bristle.org.uk/ for info on how to get the mag!