Then in the 2008 Budget, Alistair Darling announced the introduction of the additional income tax band, levied at 50pc on earnings above £150,000.
It was just one of several tax rises he implemented in the wake of the financial crisis of 2008. He also increased tobacco and alcohol duties by 2 percentage points, and fuel duty was also pushed up from the September and then 1 percentage point above indexation every April.
The markets reacted badly to his speech, with the FTSE 100 shedding about 30 points.
One of the most famous broken promises from the 2005 manifesto was that there would be a vote on the European Union Constitution. But just two years later, the government forced through the Lisbon Treaty, which was essentially an updated version of the constitution – without going to the public first.
Young people were a target of New Labour’s election strategy from its inception. But many of its efforts were unsuccessful.
Building on promises made in 1997 to tackle low levels of unemployment among youths, in 2005 Labour pledged to eradicate unemployment in younger generations. But in 2010, it was running at more than 920,000 among 16-24 year olds.
It was not the only policy targeted at young adults which Labour failed to deliver on.
In 2005, Labour’s aim was for 50pc of young people to go on to higher education by this year – by 2008 the figure was only 39.8pc – a rise of just 0.6 percentage points since 2000. The 50pc target would not be achieved until 2019 – and many maintain that encouraging so many to attend higher education was a mistake.
Labour also promised a “nationwide week-long summer residential programme for school students” in 2005, which was not introduced.
The legacy of New Labour
By 2010, in the wake of the collapse of banks, Britain’s net debt was soaring and was predicted to hit £1.4 trillion in five years.
Inflation had hit 3.9pc, which in the context of the last couple of years may seem insignificant, but was well above Labour’s stated 1997 target of 2.5pc.
But while there was economic stability for much of the New Labour period, on other metrics the project failed to achieve its aims.
Poverty for working age people without children rose, and there was no real change in levels of income inequality. Inequalities in wages grew, and devolution failed to solve disparities between regions, as London remained the engine of the economy.
