Former minister blasts Budget

Peter Kilfoyle: accused ministers of strident moralising

By BBC News Online's political correspondent Nick Assinder

Former minister Peter Kilfoyle has delivered a stinging rebuke to the government over its attitude towards its core supporters.

Almost two months since he quit Tony Blair's front bench in protest at the government's attitude towards its heartlands, he delivered what amounted to his resignation speech in the Commons.

And, if Mr Blair thought his giveaway budget had done enough to address the issue of the party's disaffected voters and answer Mr Kilfoyle's complaints, he was wrong.

The ex-defence minister confirmed he had quit over the issue and, more particularly, the way New Labour was treating ordinary people and failing to tackle regional inequalities.

He accused ministers of treating the unemployed as though their plight was their own fault, often leaving them feeling "chastised".

"I do not remember the good Samaritan offering his hand to the man who fell amongst thieves then told him he was the author of his own situation."

He accused ministers of "strident moralising" rather than listening to the complaints of ordinary people, and of spreading feelings of injustice.

Speaking on the last day of the Budget debate, he also attacked the chancellor's refusal to increase the basic state pension claiming - while increases in winter fuel payments and free TV licences were welcome - what pensioners really wanted was a proper increase.

Matter of dignity

"It is a matter of the pensioners' dignity. After all they had a life time of paying tax and national insurance as their bargain with the state."

Previous governments had failed to honour their side of the deal and pensioners had looked to Labour to "right that wrong", he added.

He also issued a powerful demand for the chancellor to pump money into the regions, repeating his earlier claim that it all too often appeared that decisions were taken by people sitting in Whitehall with little understanding of the real problems in areas like his, on Merseyside.

Budget disappointment

He said he had looked for some relief for the regions in the budged but been disappointed.

And, while he praised much of the spending pledges contained in the Budget , he said he would wait and see what actually happened on the ground.

He ended with a stark warning to the government of failing to grasp the nettle.

"The rewards for success will be extremely great - failure cannot be contemplated," he said.

Disillusioned heartlands

Mr Kilfoyle's remarks sum up the problems besetting the government as it struggles to overcome disillusion amongst its heartland supporters.

Chancellor Gordon Brown's Budget was designed to address exactly those issues and ministers will be dismayed that it has not had the desired effect.

Mr Kilfoyle has also shown that he will be a constant thorn in the side of the government and will be ready to drive home his criticisms if he believes the government is failing its traditional supporters.