The 10p starting rate fiasco

In 1999 Gordon Brown introduced the 10p starting tax rate. I was working for William Hague that year, helped him prepare his Budget reply and kept the notes he used in the Commons as a memento.

On top of his prepared remarks he scribbled "but abolished 20p rate". And he began his reply by pointing this out.

In the press coverage the next day, my colleague Peter Riddell duly noted this. Most other coverage missed it out.

"Everyone's a Winner" said the Sun on March 10 1999, lauding Brown new starting rate. The Chancellor "took The Sun's advice" the paper trumpeted. The new rate "was just like our Everyone's A Winner Game, in which all our 10 million readers are guaranteed a prize".

"Three Cheers for Gordon", "Thank Gord" and "Brilliant but devious" were among the headlines garnered by the 10p rate.

And now? He's abolished it. You'd think there be some words of criticism. Some acceptance that the idea of the 10p tax rate was a silly gimmick to start off with, as his critics (like the IFS) argued at the time.

But no. Abolishing is described as a tax cut (which it isn't), just as introducing it was described as a tax cut (which it wasn't).

Ridiculous.