Category: Conservatives

Lib Dems go after high-earners’ pensions

February 14, 2012 1:05 pm by Kiran Stacey

The Liberal Democrats have a problem. They have staked their colours clearly to the mast when it comes to raising the minimum threshold for income tax to £10,000. Most expect it to be done by the end of the parliament, if not by 2014.

The problem is, this will cost money – £4bn if it’s done by 2015, £5.5bn if it’s done by 2014 – and there isn’t much of it floating around. Lib Dems will tell you they are keen on two options to pay for this: one is to clamp down on tax avoidance; the other is to tax the pension contributions made by higher earners.

Both options are likely to make some kind of appearance in the Budget in March. But it is the latter that raises the serious money, and carries potentially serious risks for the coalition.

Continue reading: “Lib Dems go after high-earners’ pensions”

Tags: Pension contribution tax relief
Posted in Coalition, Conservatives, Lib Dems, Nick Clegg, Tax, Treasury, UK economy, UK politics | Permalink

PMQs: Cameron tries to paint Tories as big spenders

February 8, 2012 1:28 pm by Kiran Stacey

When Andy Burnham returned to the health beat for Labour, some in Andrew Lansley’s team were delighted. This is the man, they pointed out, who said he would not ringfence spending on the NHS. He even said that to do so would be “irresponsible” – hardly a vote-winning tactic.

David Cameron clearly thinks the same thing – that by shifting the focus of the health debate onto Burnham and his refusal to promise extra money for the NHS, he can nullify the controversy surrounding his health bill.

That is why, several times during today’s session of prime minister’s questions, Cameron insisted:

That’s what you get if you get Labour: no money, no reform, no good health service.

Continue reading: “PMQs: Cameron tries to paint Tories as big spenders”

Tags: Andrew Lansley, Health bill, pmqs
Posted in Conservatives, David Cameron, Ed Miliband, Labour, UK politics | Permalink

IFS: Darling would have borrowed more than Osborne

February 2, 2012 5:01 pm by Kiran Stacey

When George Osborne told the country last November that he was going to miss the target of eliminating the current structural deficit by 2015, Labour were quick to tell everyone how the chancellor’s economic gamble had failed.

Not only was Osborne having to borrow more to pay for this failure, the opposition claimed that he was even now having to borrow more than Alistair Darling would have done under his deficit reduction plan. That claim was illustrated by this graph, showing the course of borrowing under Darling’s 2010 plan and Osborne’s modified 2011 plan:

Continue reading: “IFS: Darling would have borrowed more than Osborne”

Posted in Coalition, Conservatives, Deficit, Tax, Treasury, UK economy, UK politics | Permalink

PMQs: A battle of two halves

February 1, 2012 1:07 pm by Kiran Stacey

It was an interesting decision by Ed Miliband not to ask David Cameron about Fred Goodwin’s knighthood today, especially when he could have pushed the PM into the uncomfortable position of calling for other bankers to lose their titles. That possibly reflects a growing sense of unease, as voiced by Alistair Darling this morning, that one individual may have been unfairly singled out in a politically-motivated attack.

Instead, the Labour leader developed his theme of unfairness at the top of society, calling on the prime minister to implement the suggestions of the Walker review and ensure that banks have to disclose how many people they employ who earn over £1m a year.

The legislation to make this possible was passed under the last Labour government and with cross-party support, Miliband pointed out, why wouldn’t the PM enact it?

Continue reading: “PMQs: A battle of two halves”

Tags: Benefits cap, high pay, NHS, pmqs
Posted in Conservatives, David Cameron, Ed Miliband, Labour, UK politics | Permalink

Exclusive: Lib Dems fight govt on ‘ambulance chasers’

January 30, 2012 4:33 pm by Kiran Stacey

Government ministers have had to get used to an unusually truculent House of Lords in the last few weeks, as I wrote about last week.

Both the health and welfare bills might have to undergo serious change if they are to pass the upper house in time for the Queen’s speech.

But peers are also debating another important bill at the moment: the legal aid bill. And that could end up being yet another source of tension.

Continue reading: “Exclusive: Lib Dems fight govt on ‘ambulance chasers’”

Tags: Insurance, Jonathan djanogly, Legal aid bill
Posted in Coalition, Conservatives | Permalink

How big is the MoD black hole?

January 26, 2012 7:36 pm by Kiran Stacey

An additional 3,000 civilians will be axed from the Ministry of Defence after ministers realised the department’s “black hole” – the gap between revenue expectations and spending commitments – was bigger than previously thought.

This “black hole” has become one of the government’s most effective examples of Labour profligacy versus coalition (especially Conservative) fiscal discipline. But in truth, we’ve never really known how big it is or how close it is to being eliminated.

It is generally reckoned that when the coalition came in, there was a £10bn gap that needed closing over the course of the parliament, but the total overspend on existing projects could eventually be as high as £38bn.

Continue reading: “How big is the MoD black hole?”

Tags: Liam Fox, Ministry of Defence, Philip Hammond
Posted in Coalition, Conservatives, Deficit, Labour, UK politics | Permalink

PMQs: Miliband exposes Cameron vulnerabilities

January 25, 2012 1:13 pm by Kiran Stacey

It was no surprise that Ed Miliband led on the economy today, on the day that GDP figures showed a drop in output in the last quarter of last year.

The Labour leader’s questioning was more effective than usual. He has a new line that looks like it could pay off:

He and his chancellor are the byword for smug, self-satisfied complacency.

It certainly gives us all some relief from the previous ubiquitous epithet Labour applied to the prime minister and his party of “out of touch”.

Continue reading: “PMQs: Miliband exposes Cameron vulnerabilities”

Tags: GDP, NHS, pmqs
Posted in Conservatives, David Cameron, Ed Miliband, Recession, UK economy, UK politics | Permalink

Osborne may well be saved by Labour on the IMF

January 19, 2012 12:16 pm by Kiran Stacey

George Osborne with Jun Azumi, the Japanese finance minister

Osborne with Jun Azumi, Japanese finance minister

George Osborne has been in the far east this week – probably the best place to be when the IMF announced it would ask member countries for an extra $500bn in funding. This would probably involve another €30bn from the UK – a request that would have to be approved by parliament.

This request is tricky for the chancellor. He wants to play his role as a responsible world leader and help the Fund fight the various economic crises gripping global markets – after all, a collapse of the eurozone (for instance) would have serious implications for the UK too.

The problem is, his own MPs see this as a backdoor bailout for the eurozone. They say that as the UK is not a part of the currency bloc, it shouldn’t be forced into rescuing it when it fails. And Cameron and Osborne have both made much political capital out of not signing up to the expanded European rescue fund, the EFSF. Many Tories therefore see this as both a cop-out and hypocrisy.

Continue reading: “Osborne may well be saved by Labour on the IMF”

Tags: Ed Balls, George Osborne, IMF
Posted in Coalition, Conservatives, David Cameron, UK economy | Permalink

PMQs: Ed Miliband’s new economic policy sounds just like his old one

January 18, 2012 1:10 pm by Kiran Stacey

It was sensible of Ed Miliband to tackle the prime minister over unemployment at prime minister’s questions today. No matter what the coalition says about falling interest rates, if people keep losing their jobs, the government’s robust position in the polls (if not quite a lead) is not going to last very long.

Miliband has tried to recreate a narrative from the 1980s: that the callous Tories don’t care about people losing their jobs. It’s not quite working yet, partially because voters still believe the government is clearing up Labour’s economic mess and partially because the 1980s are a fading memory. At one point, the Labour leader even had to explain who he meant by one reference to Lord Young, the former Tory employment minister, who is back working at Number 10.

Continue reading: “PMQs: Ed Miliband’s new economic policy sounds just like his old one”

Tags: pmqs, Unemployment
Posted in Conservatives, David Cameron, Ed Miliband, Labour, UK economy, UK politics | Permalink

Miliband goes on the defensive in PMQs

January 11, 2012 1:52 pm by Kiran Stacey

This was a dangerous PMQs for Ed Miliband. The Christmas break has not been particularly good for the Labour leader, with criticism being fired at him from his own supposed “guru”, Maurice Glasman – and a more coded warning shot from his own front bench in the form of Jim Murphy.

His relaunch on Tuesday fared little better, as Jim mentioned in his post yesterday.

Miliband’s vulnerability was made clear when, on standing up to speak, he was given a bigger cheer by the Tory benches than his own.

Continue reading: “Miliband goes on the defensive in PMQs”

Tags: pmqs
Posted in Conservatives, David Cameron, Ed Miliband, Labour, UK politics | Permalink

What is George Osborne’s grand plan for Scotland?

January 10, 2012 2:35 pm by Kiran Stacey

Michael Moore, the Scottish secretary, will address MPs at 4.30pm today to explain why the Westminster government is offering Alex Salmond the chance to hold a legally-binding referendum on Scottish independence.

Ostensibly, the answer is that government legal advice says that any “consultative” referendum could be open to challenge in the courts. But there is another, political reason. If Westminster offers the power to have a referendum, it can also tie in certain conditions.

The two things unionists want to stop are:

Salmond delaying the referendum until 2014 or later, by which time the first minister might have built up a sense of unstoppable momentum and;
A third option appearing on the ballot, dubbed “devolution max”, which might appeal to those nervous about full independence.

Continue reading: “What is George Osborne’s grand plan for Scotland?”

Tags: Alex Salmond, Scotland, snp
Posted in Coalition, Conservatives, David Cameron | Permalink

Should Clegg back an EU referendum?

December 19, 2011 3:34 pm by Kiran Stacey

I wrote a few weeks ago that the number one priority of those at the heart of the coalition, and especially those close to Nick Clegg, was not to have a referendum on Europe. But there are people on his side who think the Lib Dem leader should effectively call the Eurosceptics’ bluff and back a referendum, not just on any new European treaty, but on the UK’s very membership of the union. It is an argument even Clegg used to advance.

Philip Stephens, the FT’s chief political commentator, made this call a few weeks ago in a provocative column (at least for a europhile) entitled Britain’s eurosceptics are right to call for a referendum. In it he argued:

Barring a euro break-up, Britain and its partners are now set on different courses. At some point the divergence will become unsustainable. The Tory sceptics may be right after all. There is a case for an in-or-out referendum. My guess is the sceptics would be sorely disappointed by the outcome. The voters are realists. Much as Brussels may irritate them, they know there is nothing splendid about isolation.

Now YouGov have done some polling that seems to back up Stephens’ conclusions, especially about the outcome of such a referendum.

Continue reading: “Should Clegg back an EU referendum?”