How compatible are local parties with Tory/Lib Dem policy?

Darling’s time has come and gone but we re-visit the responses of the erstwhile Westminster candidates - some of whom are running for office in the Local Government and Assembly elections - in light of the incumbent Tory Chancellor George Osborne’s recent budget.

Last year we wanted to know how candidates would raise taxes and how they would distribute them had they the power. We got a variety of responses and it transpires some candidates were more in tune with current Tory/Liberal Democrat policy than others.

Some of them are looking for your vote again this year. Here’s a flavour of what they told us in 2010.

ALLIANCE KEITH MCGRELLIS. Where is he now? Looking for your vote in the Assembly election. Canvassing for two Alliance hopefuls in the Council elections.

Mr McGrellis wanted a lower corporation tax. This has been granted by the Government who have reduced the rate to 24 per cent and will further reduce it to 23 per cent by 2014.

Mr Osborne also promises to “implement its Corporate Tax Road Map, including introducing new Controlled Foreign Company (CFC) rules to allow groups based in the UK to compete more effectively with those based overseas, and consult on the Patent Box.”

The Alliance candidate was opposed to National Insurance increases which have been introduced by the Government.

He wanted taxation on higher earners. This hasn’t happened: “All income tax rates for 2011-12 will remain at their 2010-11 levels.”

DESPITE BEING A FELLOW TRAVELLER OF NICK CLEGG AND HIS LIBERAL DEMOCRATS MR MCGRELLIS IS NOT ENTIRELY IN TUNE WITH HIS GOVERNMENT.

HE GOT WHAT HE ASKED FOR IN TERMS OF A LOWER CORPORATION TAX RATE BUT WILL BE DISAPPOINTED HIGHER EARNERS ARE NOT BEING FORCED TO PAY MORE AND THAT NIC RATES HAVE INCREASED.

DUP MAURICE DEVENNEY. Where is he now? Looking for your vote in the Local Government election. Canvassing for the DUP Assembly candidate and Local Government team.

Mr Devenney wanted to sue for lower interest rates. Bank of England Governor Mervyn King has kept the rate at 0.5 per cent for two years - a record low over a period in which inflation has doubled to 4.4 per cent. This contrasts with European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet’s policy: he increased eurozone interest rates last week.

The DUP local election candidate wanted spending reduced. This was implemented across the board by the Government.

He also wanted a reduced corporation tax rate. The Government have reduced the rate to 24 per cent and by 2014 will further reduce it to 23 per cent.

He didn’t want National Insurance rates to rise and will be disappointed by the Chancellors moves to hike them.

He wanted the income tax and NIC threshold raised to £10,000. This hasn’t happened although personal tax allowance will rise a further £630 to £8,105 in April 2012. The primary threshold is currently £7,225 per year.

The DUP man also wanted the 50 per cent higher income tax rate to be made a temporary measure. The Government claims it will remain at 50 per cent but that it will review taxation to see how much this raises.

He also thought that people who inherited estates of up to £1m in value should not have to pay any tax on the property. The Tory/Lib Dem Government decided to freeze the £325,000 rate until April 2015, after which point the CPI will be used as the default indexation assumption.

MR DEVENNEY POLLED 4,489 IN THE WESTMINSTER ELECTIONS - THE BEST UNIONIST SHOWING IN FOYLE. HIS POLICIES IN TERMS OF LOW INTEREST RATES (THOUGH UNDER GOVERNMENT INFLUENCE RATHER THAN CONTROL), SPENDING CUTS AND LOWER CORPORATION TAXES CHIME WITH THE CURRENT GOVERNMENT AGENDA.

BUT HE DID NOT GET WHAT HE WANTED IN TERMS OF INCREASES IN THE INCOME TAX AND INHERITANCE TAX THRESHOLD AND NIC RATES.

ULSTER CONSERVATIVES AND UNIONISTS NEW FORCE (UCUNF) DAVID HARDING. Where is he now? Looking for the votes of the electors of East Londonderry in the Assembly elections. Canvassing for the UUP Local Government teams in Limavady and Coleraine.

Mr Harding wanted a review of tax rates. This was something of an open net pledge and was inevitably included in Budget 2011 by the tax suspicious Tory/Lib Dem coalition.

He also wanted corporation tax rates cut and will have been happy with Mr Osborne’s pledge to reduce them to 23 per cent by 2014, which was further than the 25 per cent advocated by Mr Harding as the standard rate for companies. The tax has already been cut to 24 per cent.

He wanted a reversal of the National Insurance increases implemented by Labour but his fellow traveller Mr Osborne did not grant this in Budget 2011.

He thought the 50 per cent income tax band should be subject to change. It remains 50 per cent but will be reviewed.

He wanted income tax rates to be reduced when the deficit is addressed. There is no pledge to reduce but neither is there any pledge to increase it significantly over the next four years.

He wanted the date at which pension age rises to 66 brought forward. The Government has already brought forward the rise in the State Pension Age (SPA) from 65 to 66 to 2020 from 2026. Mr Harding wanted public pensions capped at £50,000. No promise was forthcoming on this. The Hutton report on the matter will be considered.

The former Foyle UCUNF candidate wanted Ministers’ salaries reduced by 5 per cent. This was announced after David Cameron became Prime Minister.

Mr Harding’s wish for the number of MPs to be reduced by 10 per cent has not been granted.

THE UUP MAN MADE NO SECRET OF HIS AFFILIATION WITH THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY DURING HIS WESTMINSTER CAMPAIGN IN FOYLE LAST YEAR.

OVER 1,000 PEOPLE VOTED FOR HIM. HE ARGUED FOR CURRENT TORY/LIB DEM POLICIES SUCH AS CARRYING OUT A REVIEW OF TAXATION, REDUCING CORPORATION TAX RATES, BRINGING THE DATE FORWARD AT WHICH THE PENSION AGE RISES TO 66 AND REDUCING MINISTERS’ SALARIES.

BUT HE WAS DISAPPOINTED BY THE GOVERNMENT’S FAILURE TO REVERSE NIC RATES, SLASH THE NUMBER OF MPS AND LOWER INCOME TAX.

SDLP MARK DURKAN. Where is he now? Sitting Foyle MP. Canvassing for the SDLP’s Assembly and Local Government election hopefuls.

Mr Durkan told the Sentinel he wanted to scrap Trident and Eurofighter. Defence Secretary Liam Fox wants to replace the Trident nuclear subs by 2024 at an estimated cost of £20billion. He has been given permission to export some surplus Eurofighters but no buyer has yet been found.

The sitting MP also wanted to scrap costly NHS databases: Summary Care Record’s were suspended last year but are being rolled out again UK-wide.

He also sued for cross-border efficiencies which is partly under the remit of Stormont and which has not been pursued by the Tory/Liberal Democrat alliance.

Mr Durkan wanted a temporary National Insurance increase to protect front line services. He got this in that Mr Osborne said NIC rates - under inherited plans for 2011-12 - will increase by one per cent.

He also supported the notion of a Green New Deal. The Government has promised a carbon price floor for electricity generation from 1 April 2013, to drive investment in the low-carbon power sector; the capitalisation of a Green Investment Bank of £3 billion to start operation in 2012-13.

The Tory/Lib Dem alliance says it is committed to the success of the Green Deal and will act to encourage and incentivise take-up so that the Green Deal will appeal to households, businesses and prospective providers alike, before it is introduced in 2012.

OVER 16,00 PEOPLE IN LONDONDERRY VOTED FOR MR DURKAN AS HE ROMPED HOME AT THE WESTMINSTER ELECTIONS LAST SPRING. HE IS OUT OF TUNE WITH THE CAMERON/CLEGG COALITION ON DEFENCE, DATABASES AND CROSS-BORDER EFFICIENCIES BUT CHIMES WITH THEM ON THE GREEN DEAL AND WILL BE PARTIALLY SUPPORTIVE OF THE NIC 1 PER CENT HIKE ALTHOUGH WITH THE PROVISO THAT THIS SHOULD BE TEMPORARY.

PEOPLE BEFORE PROFIT (PBP) EAMON MCCANN. Where is he now? Looking for your vote in the Assembly election. Canvassing for the PBP Local Government hopefuls.

Mr McCann wanted defence spending reduced. Although the Government have promised to keep to an existing commitment to reduce spending in 2011-12 from a previous spend of £50billion to £40billion it’s not of a level likely to appease the Socialist Workers’ Party (SWP) man.

He wanted the former Labour Government’s proposal to introduce identity cards scrapped. Home Secretary Theresa May has already obliged.

Mr McCann wanted a NIC rate of 11 per cent on earnings over £844 but it is still just two per cent above £817. He also argued the additional income tax rate should be raised to 60 per cent. That didn’t happen. Neither were corporation taxes raised by Mr Osborne.

The PBP candidate also argued tax evasion schemes should be closed. Mr McCann will welcome the Government’s pledges to reduce tax avoidance in order to protect the Exchequer and maintain fairness for the taxpayer; to introduce measures which will raise around £4billion over the current Parliament, balancing long-term improvements to the antiavoidance framework with targeted measures to prevent particular schemes spreading.

The Tory/Lib Dem coalition have also published Tackling Tax Avoidance, which: initiates reviews of legislation which have been subject to repeated attempts at tax avoidance and have outlined proposals to counter the continued use and marketing of highly aggressive and artificial tax avoidance schemes.

New measures have also been introduced to address the abuse of stamp duty land tax rules; to amend the sale of lessors anti-avoidance legislation; and to clarify the degrouping charge rules affecting corporate gain.

MR MCCANN POLLED 2,936 LAST YEAR - MORE THAN UCUNF CANDIDATE DAVID HARDING AND HIS BEST ELECTORAL PERFORMANCE TO DATE. THOUGH IDENTITY CARDS HAVE BEEN SCRAPPED AND DEFENCE CUTS AND ACTION ON TAX AVOIDANCE ARE PLEDGED THE CIVIL RIGHTS VETERAN WILL NOT BELIEVE THIS GOES FAR ENOUGH. HIS TAX THE WEALTHY AND DISTRIBUTE STANCE IS ALSO OUT OF TUNE WITH THE TORY/LIB DEM COALITION.

SINN FÉIN MARTINA ANDERSON. Where is she now? Looking for your vote in the Assembly elections. Canvassing for the Sinn Féin Assembly and Local Government teams.

She wanted the devolution of tax raising powers, tax harmonisation on an all-island basis and an all-island corporation tax rate. This hasn’t happened. Stormont has no tax raising powers and speculation over an NI corporation tax rate on a par with that of the Irish Republic is just speculation.

Mrs Anderson wanted waste to be eliminated through all-island integration. This is partly within Stormont’s remit. The Government has made no mention of it in its budget. The North South talking shops will continue.

She argued there should be no income tax for people on the minimum wage. Low earners still have to pay. She wanted the standard income tax for average wage earners. The basic rate of 20 per cent remains as before.

There will be no additional rate for highest earners and no removal of the NIC upper earnings limit. Neither will there be a higher rate on inheritance tax. This is frozen at £325,000. There will be no solidarity tax on the super rich.

VAT has been increased to 20 per cent rather than decreased as Mrs Anderson also argued for.

DESPITE OUTLINING WHAT SHE WOULD LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN SHE WAS CLEAR IN HER AND SINN FÉIN’S VIEW THAT LOCAL MPs HAVE NO INFLUENCE. UNSUPRISINGLY SHE WAS AT VARIANCE WITH THE TORY/LIB DEM GOVERNMENT ON EVERY ISSUE.