Cllr James Hockney LLB (Hons)

The Chancellor has put forward the Charter of Budget Responsibility, which sets out a clear
timetable to get the current budget into balance by 2017/18.

In the meantime the two Ed’s continue their shift to the left producing the failed policies of old Labour – more taxes, more spending – whilst saying we need to reduce the deficit, but voting against the measures to bring it down!.

The contrast could not be more clear with the intervention by the head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned that Labour’s policy for more borrowing risks adding £170 billion to the national debt by 2030. Heaping on more debt for future generations. We need to live within our means now.

This country has come a long way since Labour left us with one of the worst deficits in history. Labour haven’t learnt their lesson and give every indication they would make the same mistakes again given the chance.

Britain faces a choice this May – whether to stick to the competent, long-term plan that is turning our country around, or to put it at risk with the people who crashed the economy in the first place.

When you hear the frequent speeches, or should I say relaunches of Ed Miliband’s leadership, one would think that only Labour and Labour alone care about the cost of living.

Whilst today Ed managed to remember to mention the deficit, he never mentions the inconvenient truth. That Labour presided over, post war, both the longest and the deepest recession since the war. Not only that Labour knew about the squeeze on living standards started before the recession affected wage increases, Liam Byrne said: “A special four-strong team of officials drafted a document that spotted that the rot had set in back in 2005”.

Add to that the tax hikes Labour imposed;
(1) Labour doubled income tax for the poorest by abolishing the 10p tax band.
(2) Council tax doubled under Labour. Council Tax soared under Labour with bills hitting £1,439 on an average Band D home in England in 2010/11, an increase of 109 per cent on 1997 costing hardworking families an extra £751 a year.
(3) Labour raised the rate of fuel duty 12 times while in office and planned for six further fuel duty rises after the election.

Yes, but what have the Conservatives done?

(1) Our long-term economic plan has kept mortgage rates low by not increasing borrowing. Families are benefitting from low mortgage rates – the two-year 75 per cent LTV fixed rate in September 2014 was 2.46 per cent.

(2) Cutting income tax for over 26 million people. We have increased the personal allowance to £10,000, a typical tax cut of £705. Over 3 million people on the lowest incomes will pay no income tax. Someone working full-time on the minimum wage will have had their income tax bill cut in half.

(3) We’ve frozen fuel duty so families are saving £360 on petrol if they fill up their car once a week. We have cancelled Labour’s planned fuel duty rises, making petrol 13p per litre cheaper than it would have been.

(4) Funding to freeze council tax so families keep more of the money they earn. For four years we have offered councils money so that they have the option to freeze their council tax and help their hardworking residents. Where councils have accepted our offers, council tax will have fallen by up to 11 per cent in real terms since 2010, saving people an average of £281 a year on an average Band D property.

(5) Rolling back green levies and making sure people get the cheapest deal on their electricity. By cutting green taxes we have saved people an average £50 on their energy bills and through the Energy Bill we have taken steps to ensure people get the best energy tariff deal. This could save households as much as £158.

(6) Delivered the biggest ever cash rise in the Basic State Pension. The Government introduced the triple lock to guarantee that the Basic State Pension always increases in line with earnings, inflation, or 2.5 per cent – whichever is highest.

That is why I think the Conservative are delivering a better deal for the British people. 

Although much has rightly been made of the strong support amongst voters and the media to the Prime Minister’s long-term economic plan for our Country – commentary from the business sector does not seem to have been noted.

Coming from a family of entrepreneurs who have set-up many businesses including an international manufacturing firm I know of the damage that Labour did to the sector when they were in power and what is being done now to address that.

Here are some quotes from leading business organisations; I will leave it in their own words;

The CBI has said, “The CBI welcomes the Prime Minister’s commitment to a long-term economic plan for a successful Britain. Businesses are ready to step up to the plate to make sure that growth is meaningful to everyone”. They go on to say, “A job is the best route to prosperity and business supports stronger incentives for people to get a job and get on in work. At the same time, we need more investment to create more jobs, so pledging to keep the UK corporate tax rate the most competitive in the G20 will send out a clear positive signal to businesses”.
BCC said, “The Prime Minister was right to make the link between a competitive business environment, a strong economy and the resources available for delivering the public services people across Britain want. The continued commitment to balancing the books is absolutely right, as are the income tax cuts for promoting work, enterprise and aspiration. Overall, this was a speech that stressed the importance of the economy and didn’t duck the scale of the challenges we face”.
The FSB. “In his speech the Prime Minister promised he would secure a better future and balance the books. For business, his commitments on tackling the deficit, corporate taxes and much-needed house building are welcome. We particularly support the Prime Minister’s clear commitment to delivering full employment – a goal the FSB put at the heart of our Manifesto”.

EEF- The Manufacturers Organisation, “Business will be delighted by the PM’s commitment to maintain low corporate taxes, which is a vital ingredient of confidence and future growth”. They go on to say; “The PM’s focus on finishing the job in education is welcome and critical to delivering industry’s pipeline of new employees. We strongly back efforts to maintain the drive for high quality and high standards in schools”.

So this is why we must ensure a majority Conservative Government next year.