Labour leadership contender Diane Abbott tells the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg that she would like to introduce new taxes on wealth, financial transactions and banking

Comments

[Ivor Grudge]

Sir Alan Budd :

"The nightmare I sometimes have, about this whole experience, runs as follows. I was involved in making a number of proposals which were partly at least adopted by the government and put in play by the government. Now, my worry is … that there may have been people making the actual policy decisions … who never believed for a moment that this was the correct way to bring down inflation.

"They did, however, see that it would be a very, very good way to raise unemployment, and raising unemployment was an extremely desirable way of reducing the strength of the working classes -- if you like, that what was engineered there in Marxist terms was a crisis of capitalism which re-created a reserve army of labour and has allowed the capitalists to make high profits ever since.

"Now again, I would not say I believe that story, but when I really worry about all this, I worry whether that indeed was really what was going on."

[Ultimo Tiger]

Oh f*** off you annoying Marxists.

[DavidRHayes]

If socialists ever want to be taken seriously again in mainstream politics, they will need to stop perpetuating this delusion that the Conservatives have a vendetta against those on low incomes. All this seems to achieve is creating their own brand of inherited prejudice. If they continue they will be doomed to sit on the sidelines for eternity (with many resorting to another delusion in that they are voting for "Old Labour").

The other problem is that everyone needs to realise that you actually need to create wealth, not merely think of ways to redistribute the profit and pain.

Whether we like it or not, nearly every economic decision taken is bound to have a negative consequence on someone with a low income, whether that be directly or indirectly.

I will admit that in recent years I have met socialists who aren't ignorant as my earlier example, but nevertheless still seem to stubbornly argue against ideas for reducing the deficit, without providing real alternatives.

If any socialist is willing to prove me wrong, by providing some practical alternatives to reducing the deficit, though please remember to take the Laffer curve in account when it comes to increasing taxation, but I can assure you, it won't be as easy as you many of you think.

[Martin Marprelate- A Man in the Street!]

I really wouldn't bother worrying about Diane Abbott. She is a triple token, token woman, token black, token lefty, in the Labour Leadership contest. I would say that I have a bettre chance of being the next Pope than she has of being Labour's Leader. The last time they made such a stupid mistake was to chose Michael Foot and look what that got them in 1983!

[shaun]

at last some opposition must have another narrative to make us better keeps us honest and keeps us focused puts day light between us and them Want an intelligent leader of the opposittion to keep us honest rather than a pretend tony blair.

[matthew fox]

Diane Abbott is political toast and irrelevant.

[Conservative Homer]

Theres something very ironic about taxing the banks more whilst at the same time subsidising them through various Special liquidity type schemes.

[Holly]

Tax banks/rich etc more..
Give to schools/hospitals/poor people etc..
Keep employing the same calibre of staff/encourage the poor people to be just a bit better off..
Good pitch Diane...
Worked until the nasty bankers/public spending truth was revealed through lack of erm......MONEY!
Some folk just do not get reality.