Creditworthy

As Gordon Brown joins the cry against Universal Credit, it is rapidly becoming Theresa May's Poll Tax. The only way to get rid of that, and thus to save both the Conservative Party from electoral oblivion and the country from very considerable civil unrest, was to get rid of Margaret Thatcher.

The Conservative Party pretended that it was about "Europe", but the extremely bitter chapter in Thatcher's autobiography makes it crystal clear that she blamed the All Britain Anti-Poll Tax Federation, the core of which was the Militant Tendency. Between them, Militant and her own party got rid of her. So much for Neil Kinnock.

May is as determined to save Universal Credit as Thatcher was to save the Poll Tax. Again, her party faces electoral oblivion. And again, the country faces very considerable civil unrest. But again, here comes "Europe" to give Conservative MPs the excuse to do the work of the extraparliamentary Left. Only this time, paradoxically, the extraparliamentary Left is led by the Leader of the Official Opposition.

Forward, then, to Richard Nixon's Universal Basic Income instead, as advocated by The Economist and by the Adam Smith Institute. The main opposition to that will be on the Labour benches, where many people still think that Universal Credit was a splendid idea. Never forget that it was New Labour that abolished Income Support, that it was New Labour that gave a grateful nation the Work Capability Assessment, and so forth.

Another hung Parliament is coming, however, and our people need to hold the balance of power in it. My crowdfunding page is here, or email davidaslindsay@hotmail.com for other options. That address accepts PayPal.