By Harry PhibbsFollow Harry on Twitter The Government is proposing a cap of £75,000 on the amount the elderly pay for social care. This is to avoid them being forced to sell their homes. The Labour Party have criticised the plan for not going far enough – although they neglected to provide any reform at all […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter "From April this year, no one will have to sell their home to fund care. Those unable to afford fees will get the right to defer paying." That's the Coalition's big promise to the elderly as made in today's Sun and across the Sunday newspapers. Proving that the Coalition […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. The Independent reported yesterday that George Osborne has taken it upon himself to intervene in today's same-sex marriage bill. The Chancellor, it said, "is understood to have been contacting MPs whose position is still uncertain" (on a measure, remember, which is officially a matter for a free vote). It […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter © i-Images A promise to introduce a tax allowance for married couples was one of the first commitments that David Cameron made when he stood for Tory leader in 2005*. When he told the Tory Conference in 2006 that marriage should be between a man and a man and […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. Since Elizabeth Truss is an Education Minister, I can't resist writing a school report for her – even though she hasn't been in the job for long, and we are a long way away from the end of term. She is making a big speech about childcare at Policy […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter (C) i-Images This morning's newspapers are full of advice for George Osborne and that advice leads this morning's newslinks. Most agree that the Chancellor should cut current spending more deeply and therefore become able to afford pro-enterprise tax cuts and also more spending on infrastructure and construction. Despite some […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter It seems Robert Halfon MP and I have had similar ideas in recent months. When we launched StrongAndCompassionate.com last October I used a marching crowd as our logo (above right). Rob is using something similar (above left) for his 10p tax campaign. The labour movement prides itself on its […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. The most simple way to support couples with children, an established aim of the tax system, is through a universal payment that is neutral between families that work in different ways, and which they can thus use for childcare as they want. In practice, this means that transferred allowance […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter Cameron appeared on BBC1 wearing a light blue shirt. It's the second time in 2013 he's abandoned his normal white shirt policy. Perhaps Mrs Cameron bought him a new wardrobe for Christmas? We have two interviews with the PM to report this morning. In one, in The Sunday Telegraph, […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter The Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph see the Government's plan to restrict or remove child benefit from higher-earning people as an assault on their readers. So as we approach the start of the plan's implementation next week, they are stepping up their assault. The Mail this morning began to […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter 2013 starts with some good news. After repeatedly attacking his Coalition partners (on Europe, on wanting to cut welfare too much, on property taxes and general Right-wingery in recent weeks) the Deputy Prime Minister has turned his fire on Labour this morning. Let's hope it's a New Year's resolution. […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. Tony Blair and Gordon Brown committed their party to Conservative spending plans when they fought the 1997 election. Their shrinking of the target at which their enemies could fire set the tone for the next 20 years, followed as it was by one of biggest landslide victories in British […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter "Inflation is the crabgrass in your savings" – Robert Orben, presidential speechwriter Crabgrass grows in the late spring. Individual crabgrass plants can then extend to twelve inches in diameter during the summer. They then die, leaving a large void in your lawn. *** We've had a lot of inflation […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. Tim Montgomerie wrote earlier this morning about an alternative Conservative plan for the economy. It's therefore timely to list other schemes from the centre-right – of which very few from have come from the Commons, and those mostly from the older generation of Tory MPs. There are two main […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter A YouGov poll for The Sunday Times (PDF) suggests that most people (52%) believe that the Government's decision to limit benefits to a 1% annual increase for the next three years is either the correct thing to do or is not tough enough: 33% say it was "right that […]