Ed Miliband has caused a storm among fellow MPs, and according to the Sunday Times' YouGov poll which shows him trailing behind Cameron, the whole nation with his controversial proposal for 'Mansion Tax.' Together with the failure to address the hot topic of immigration, this was just one of the downfalls from the Labour conference last week.
'Mansion Tax' will affect homes that are valued at more than £2 million and is likely to alienate wealthier voters and investors. Indian-born business man Lord Noon who has contributed large sums of money to the Labour Party denounced the proposed tax reform as a 'hopeless and desperate idea' that 'is going back to the 1970s.' Though Miliband promised that the tax would be applied on a sliding scale with those just making the bracket paying less, there are still huge problems with the model in terms of social and structural vision; in a study published in February by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) Peter Rollings chief executive of Marsh and Pearsons estate agents stated 'any policy initiatives (regarding Mansion Tax) should concentrate on nurturing the embryonic buds of growth outside of London, rather than drastically pruning back healthier branches of the market.' Labour's biggest donor, businessman John Mills, also brought to light the concern that 'people who have got mortgages will go into negative equity.'
Lord Noon who had invested more than £850,000 in the Labour party, with £170,000 donated in the past year, was a masthead for many disenchanted members of the cabinet after Miliband's lukewarm address. Noon was backed by Lord Levy, Tony Blair's chief fund-raiser, who chastised Mansion Tax as 'totally inappropriate and having no validity whatsoever.' Levy also warned that Labour was not making enough of an effort to win over business chiefs whose financial support the party is very much dependent on: 'I want to see a Labour government back in power,' he demanded.
With the Tories on 36%,two points in front of Labour, the YouGov national polls are corroborating the anxiety of MPs: 'We have got to deal with the real deficit, which is the deficit of trust in Labour's approach to the economy and public finances,'a former cabinet minister said.
'Labour really need to buck up,' said Lord Noon who also criticised Miliband for his scant address of the very pertinent issue of immigration: 'I am an immigrant myself but the wrong people are coming into this country. In America you have one conviction and they don't let you in. We want people who contribute to Britain and the economy but not the wrong sort of people. I think this is not acceptable. I like Theresa May who is tough.' John Mann the Labour MP for Basetlaw said the party's blind-spot in immigration policy may cost it the election while another government official commented that Miliband is 'throwing the baby out with the bath water' in his attempt to distance himself from New Labour.
The urgency for sharper policies that will appeal to broader and more influential range of society was excabareted by what the 'The Financial Times' called a very 'polished' conference by Cameron. Compounded by Home Secretary Theresa May's recent hardline announcement in connection to international threats, the Conservatives are doing their hardest to win back and dig into UKIP voters. Despite scoring only 7% in the polls, 6 points behind UKIP, Clegg also launched a determined and specific attack for the Lib Dems accusing Cameron of leading 'the nasty party' who was plotting to 'screw the poor.'
Miliband's half-baked proposal for'Mansion Tax' and failure to confront immigration is then very troubling say Labour MPs. It may mean we are looking at a hung parliament in 2015: 'the party's rounding up of a core vote is far too timid' said Labour veteran Lord Prescott. Miliband might as well have said 'go back to your constituencies and prepare for coalition.' Andrew Mackinlay, who was Labour MP for Thurrock until recently when he lost his seat to an unprecedented surge in UKIP support said 'Ed needs to hone his skills of presentation.' He said it was a mistake to ignore the South-East and 'the M25 belt of critical marginal seats.' In an exclusive statement to Asian Voice Noon also said 'I had to speak up for my party. You fight with your parents when you care about them. It's the same for my belief in Labour.'
With Labour's slim victory in the recent local elections and the shocking triumph of Farage's anti-immigration party in the EU elections, Miliband direly needs to address the related issues of investors' support, many of whom are British-asians and immigration control which are crucial in combatting the deficit.
