Government 'dodging democracy' over tax rises, says minister

From the BBC:

The UK government "dodged democracy" by not holding referendums on the VAT and National Insurance increases two years ago, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has said.

Those who wish to take money from hard working businesses should "man up" and consult the public, he told the Daily Telegraph. The public is facing a third year of steep spending increases, and ministers have said if the government wishes to increase spending by more than 2% they should hold a public vote.

Mr Pickles told the Telegraph that his own government was "cheating their taxpayers" and pledged to introduce new laws to stop abuse of the system.

"The days of the knee-jerk tax and spend hike are over," he said.

He raised the prospect of lowering the threshold for a referendum in future and said he would legislate to close any other loopholes which enable the government to avoid such votes.

He revealed that only about a third of government departments had committed to freezing their budgets in the next financial year, despite government calls for restraint as households faced difficult economic times.