The division between the haves and have nots remains as great as ever. Official figures show that the gap between the rich and the poor was as great in 2007-8 as it was in 1996-97. The richest fifth of the population still earns over 5 times as much as the poorest fifth. The 5 million poorest households have earnings of just £94 a week, while the richest fifth of households earn an average of £578 a week.

To add insult to injury, the least well off fifth of households pay a higher proportion of their income in tax than any other group. The least well off fifth pay an effective tax rate of 38.6%. The richest fifth have an effective tax rate of 34.8%. Nick de Bois thinks this is unfair.

Meanwhile, the number of people not working is at record levels- or in Labour speak are economically inactive. There are according to latest figures almost 7.9 million people who are of working age but economically inactive. That'sabout  20% of the working age population. Locally, there are over 12,000 workless people - one in four of the working age population. Without fairer, simpler taxes, there is not much incentive to work.

Nick de Bois believes this cannot be justified is not sustainable and undermines any concept of fairness in a modern society.

This would be a disgraceful record for any Government - and responsibility lies at the door of Gordon Brown. The stealth taxes - like Council Tax and fuel duties - prey on the poorest who can least afford to pay. The benefits system discourages people from striving for success, in some case it traps people who want to get on but are caught in the so called poverty trap where they earn more off the state doing nothing than having a job. Gordon Brown and his Government is a model for the stealthy controlling hand, the fostering of dependency, the blunting of ambition and the abandonment of hope for a better future. Nick de Bois wants to see a Britain that we can all be part of, where we help everybody to grow and achieve their potential.