Mr Blair’s response to Conservative plans to reward hardworking people who save for their future was weak and predictable.
He continues to trot out the same old claims (that our spending plans don’t add up) yet, as the Times newspaper says today:
“It is ridiculous to contend that state expenditure is being managed in such an optimal manner that it would be impossible to deliver £4 billion in tax reductions”.
In reality, it is his tax and spending plans that are in trouble. Most independent commentators agree that he’s now spending and borrowing so much that he would have to raise taxes even further if he gets in again.
That’s why Conservative plans are responsible and affordable.
It is in the best long-term interests of the country to slow the rate of increase in public spending and to focus the resources on the things that need it the most.
It is in Britain’s long-term interest to have a Government that will get to grips with the bureaucracy and red-tape that is getting out of control under Mr Blair.
And it is in our long-term interests to tackle the pensions time-bomb that Mr Blair has helped to create and done nothing to solve.
Britain needs a Government that will take the right decisions and act on the things that really matter, not five more years of talk. We need a Prime Minister who will take a stand on important issues, not a Prime Minister who’s only motivation is votes and popularity.
As the
Daily Express says reports: “The Tories have shown they are thinking
about the future rather than
attempting to bribe the electorate with short-term electoral measures”.
He keeps talking about ‘Forward not back’, but Mr Blair seems intent on focusing only on the past. As his response to Conservative plans shows, when it comes to dealing with any of the problems Britain faces in the future, he has little positive to say.
CONSERVATIVES PLEDGE £1.7 BILLION BOOST
FOR SAVING
Conservatives yesterday announced tax relief to encourage and reward people who put money into their pensions. We will remedy the damage caused by Mr Blair’s pensions stealth tax.
Why Labour are all talk
Mr Blair promised: ‘We will encourage saving for retirement’
(1997 Manifesto). All talk. Britain is sitting on a pensions time-bomb.
• The Pensions Commission has said ‘Given present trends, many
people will face “inadequate” pensions in retirement…’
(Interim Report, October 2004, p.xi).
• 80,000 people have lost 20 per cent or more of their savings as a result of the collapse of their occupational pension funds (Hansard, 21 March 2005, Col.603WA).
• 45 per cent of adult employees are not investing in pensions at all (Family Resources Survey 2003/04, Department for Work and Pensions, April 2005, table 7.12).
• Before he was elected, Mr Blair was asked: ‘Will Labour tax pension funds?’ Mr Blair responded: ‘Our public expenditure plans require no extra taxation’ (Evening Standard, 14 April 1997). Immediately after the election, Mr Blair imposed a £5 billion a year tax on pension funds.
Labour’s first social security minister, Frank Field, has said: ‘when Labour came to power we had one of the strongest pension provisions in Europe and now probably we have some of the weakest’ (BBC Radio 4, Today, 7 September 2004).
Worse, Mr Blair pledged: ‘I think a large number of people who are pensioners in this country understand that the Labour Party is the best guarantee for them of security in retirement’ (Labour Party Press Conference, 29 April 1997). All talk.
• More means-testing. Mr Blair promised to ‘remove the stigma of means-testing for ever’ (Labour Party Conference, 1995) but nearly half of all pensioners are now on means-tested benefits (Public Pension Reform in the United Kingdom, Institute for Fiscal Studies, 2004).
• Higher council tax. Mr Blair promised: ‘We want to do more for middle and lower income pensioners. … It is right they share in the nation’s wealth. I am listening. I hear. And I will act’ (Party Conference Speech 2000). But under Mr Blair, a third of the increase in the basic state pension since 1997 has been swallowed up by council tax increases.
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats claim they want to help hard-working people, but their front-bench spokesman Andrew George MP said: ‘Our slogan at the next election will be “Trust us, we will put your taxes up”’ (Radio 5 Live, Simon Mayo Show, 19 January 2005).
The Liberal Democrats, like Labour, have no plans to reduce borrowing – so taxes would have to rise even further. The Liberal Democrats have published plans for over 40 new or increased taxes.
Liberal Democrat plans for a local income tax would shift more of the burden on to hard-working families. A typical working family will pay over £600 a year more. Replacing council tax with a local income tax will not reduce the growing burden of local taxation. It would merely ‘rob Peter to pay Paul’, make councils more dependent on Whitehall hand-outs and increase costs for local firms.
The Liberal Democrats claim they would provide a bigger state pension, but cannot show how they would pay for it – and their plans only apply to the over 75s.
What will Conservatives do?
Tackling the pensions time-bomb:
• We have announced tax relief to encourage and reward people who put money into their pensions. This is a policy aimed at increasing security for tomorrow’s pensioners today.
• We expect that around 10 million basic and starting rate taxpayers will benefit from the tax relief immediately and we hope that the relief will encourage people to put more money into their pensions.
• For each £100 a basic or starting rate taxpayer puts into a funded pension, the taxman will put in an additional £10 directly into their pension. And whereas existing tax relief simply delays tax on the money people put into their pensions, our proposal will cut tax on the contributions made by basic rate taxpayers.
• For a person on average earnings across a working lifetime, this relief could increase the pension received by as much as £500 a year.
We will also help today’s pensioners:
• A bigger state pension. We will boost the basic state pension by raising it in line with earnings, not just price inflation.
Over four years, this means an extra £7 for single pensioners and £11 for couples, over and above increases in line with inflation. We will not scrap the means-tested Pension Credit, but a bigger pension will reduce reliance on it. We will protect all existing benefits and concessions, such as winter fuel allowance and free TV licences.
• Council tax bills cut. Our new discount will reduce pensioners’ current bills by 50 per cent, up to a maximum of £500 per household, funded by central government. The discount will apply to people 65 or over who live alone, or who live with adults aged 65 or over.
• Help with long-term care. With a new Conservative Government, no one will be forced into the desperate situation of selling their own home to finance their long-term care. People who self-financed the first three years of their long-term care would be guaranteed free long-term care by the Government beyond those three years, regardless of their assets.
Conservative Cares for Pensioners and Working People
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