By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter On his blog Bagehot (David Rennie) wrote a defence of the "granny tax" that George Osborne should have given in Wednesday's Budget (I hope he and The Economist will forgive me for a lengthy reprint): "To help working families on low incomes, I am increasing the basic personal income tax […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter Previous Governments were accused of hiding the true level of unemployment by moving people off the jobless figures and assigning them for receipt of invalidity or similar benefits. The Coalition is moving in the other direction – independently assessing those in receipt of incapacity benefit and moving them back into […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter David Cameron won't write an article to celebrate the passing of every Government bill. (For example, Number 10 will want to see the health bill smuggled through its final stage with as little fuss as possible, presuming it gets there.) But he is shouting from Downing Street's rooftop this […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter. The Government's localism agenda so far has made positive, but limited progress. Directly-elected Police Commissioners are a good example of conservative reformism – handing the power over local policing to local people. But policing should be just one power handed back to local government. More powers, including powers of […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter Today's Mail on Sunday tells the story of Kirsty James, who has wanted to be a hairdresser since she was a child. She now has a three-year apprenticeship at Toni and Guy, and thus a chance to realise her ambition. What made her dream possible? Was it "Youth Fight […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter In the latest ConservativeHome survey we asked respondents to rate the importance of 23 policy themes for convincing voters "that the Conservatives are a modern, compassionate party". Respondents voted between 0 (unimportant) to 10 (very important). The average ratings are pasted below: Improve schools: 8.48 Keep inflation under control: 8.33 […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter. YouGov found (£) (PDF) that 69% of British people, including two-thirds of Labour supporters, either support the Coalition's benefits cap of £26,000 per household or think it should be even stricter. Only 16% want a more generous cap or no cap at all. The cap is one of the […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter My popularity with Guardian readers soars to new heights this morning as I make the case for the Government's proposed replacement of the disability living allowance (DLA). The Lords thumped Ministers in a triple defeat last week over other parts of the welfare reform bill proposals. It will debate […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter I am a sceptic by temperament and thus can't help viewing David Cameron's speech on problem families earlier today through a dispassionate lens. Some of the questions that come to mind are those that any responsible opposition should ask. Will councils fund 60% of the cost of family interventions […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter Last week George Osborne announced that austerity wouldn't end in time for the next election but would continue for at least another two years. This government or its successor is likely to need to find another £30 billion in cuts (although dramatic supply-side reform would reduce this total). This continuation […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. Compassionate conservatism, social justice, the fairness agenda (all these overlap) exist with two groups of poorer or disadvantaged people in mind: those who aren't in work and those who are. The first group are by definition on benefits or pensions. Many of the second are on tax credits – […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter Patrick Wintour has already predicted that Polly Toynbee won't like tonight's speech from Iain Duncan Smith. The Welfare Secretary launches a direct attack on the idea that the battle against poverty is all about welfare and benefits. This is an extract from his speech at the LSE: "Increased income and […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter There are, crudely, two forms of compassionate conservatism. One form is about helping the strivers – the working poor. Cutting petrol duty, freezing council tax, tackling energy prices and raising the starting threshold for income tax are part of this agenda. The second form of compassionate conservatism is a broader […]
By Joseph Willits Follow Joseph on Twitter Speaking on Sky's Murnaghan, and the BBC's Politics Show, Francis Maude suggested that the army could be used to help secure British borders if Wednesday's planned strikes over public sector pensions were to go ahead. Britain's image would be effected, he said, "if people travelling to Britain are subjected to […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter. A new poll released today by Survation shows the daunting task the Coalition faces to convince the public its pension reforms are the right way forward. The poll finds people trust trade unions almost three times as much as they trust the government to be truthful about pensions. Whilst […]