First, in the backlash of the child benefits debacle, he was forced to apologise that axing benefits for more than a million families was NOT in the Tory election manifesto.
(In fact, the Tories spent the general election campaign accusing Labour of scurrilous scaremongering after the Tories' secret plans to cut child benefit were exposed).
And secondly today, the Prime Minister was forced to defend his Chief spindoctor, former editor of the News of the World Andy Coulson after more revelations in the phone-hacking scandal.
Showing posts with label child benefits. Show all posts
Showing posts with label child benefits. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
It's the 'End of' as Tories go on the run...
Just 24 hours after the ConDem axe fell on more than a million families, Tory Children’s minister Tim Loughton has come up with the understatement of the year...
In the face of the storm and as the Mail splashed today on "Fury of Stay at Home Mums", Mr Loughton admitted that the move 'could be in need of more work...'!!!
The Tories are so out of touch with normal people that they thought their back of a fag packet ruse would get positive headlines for their Conference...
But hitting women and children first is not even popular with their own MPs.
A backbench revolt is already brewing as Tory MPs realise the move squeezes 'middle England' and threatens their survival at the next election. The revolt is likely to be led by David Davis, the MP who callenged David Cameron for the leadership of the Tory Party.
Today, he went on the airways to hightlight the unfairness. He says it cannot be right that a family with a single earner on £44k a year and a partner staying at home to look after the kids loses their child benefit while neighbours with both partners each earning £40k - a total income of £80k - KEEP their child benefit.
LibDem Susan Kramer dismissed suggestions of Coalition unfairness saying "That's the way the tax system works"!!
It's astonishing is how the lackey LibDems support scrapping the principle of universal benefits for children. They sold their principles for a taste of power...
Labour's Yvette Cooper hit the nail on the head when she said cutting child benefit for over a million families gives the lie to the ConDem's justification that deep cuts are needed now to protect the future generation.
The ConDems are making the next generation pay now.
I also heard London Tory MP Mark Field admit earlier today that the ConDems would have a political price to pay to cut child benefits. Her admitted that the £44k threshold would hit many 'ordinary' hard working families in the capital.
Even Tory Children's Minister Tim Loughton told Channel 4 News the move could be in need of more work.
He said: "If there are ways we can look at compensating measures for those genuinely in need, that will be looked at in future budgets."
But the prize for most entertaining piece of telly today has to go to Sky who broadcast Loughton desperately trying to escape the media spotlight who wanted to clarify his thoughts on a rethink.
Fast-trotting through Birming convention centre trailed by a media scrum, he didn't want to take the opportunity to explain what he meant.
Later, when the cameras caught up with him, Mr Loughton said:
I am very happy with the policy that George Osborne announced yesterday. It’s tough, it’s a difficult choice but it’s fair. End of. End of.
And to every other question, Mr Loughton replied: End of. End of.
Question: …does that imply you’re going to try and bring in measures to mitigate this?
Tory Minister: End of. End of.
Question: End of what?
Tory Minister: End of.
And that was the end of
In the face of the storm and as the Mail splashed today on "Fury of Stay at Home Mums", Mr Loughton admitted that the move 'could be in need of more work...'!!!
The Tories are so out of touch with normal people that they thought their back of a fag packet ruse would get positive headlines for their Conference...
But hitting women and children first is not even popular with their own MPs.
A backbench revolt is already brewing as Tory MPs realise the move squeezes 'middle England' and threatens their survival at the next election. The revolt is likely to be led by David Davis, the MP who callenged David Cameron for the leadership of the Tory Party.
Today, he went on the airways to hightlight the unfairness. He says it cannot be right that a family with a single earner on £44k a year and a partner staying at home to look after the kids loses their child benefit while neighbours with both partners each earning £40k - a total income of £80k - KEEP their child benefit.
LibDem Susan Kramer dismissed suggestions of Coalition unfairness saying "That's the way the tax system works"!!
It's astonishing is how the lackey LibDems support scrapping the principle of universal benefits for children. They sold their principles for a taste of power...
Labour's Yvette Cooper hit the nail on the head when she said cutting child benefit for over a million families gives the lie to the ConDem's justification that deep cuts are needed now to protect the future generation.
The ConDems are making the next generation pay now.
I also heard London Tory MP Mark Field admit earlier today that the ConDems would have a political price to pay to cut child benefits. Her admitted that the £44k threshold would hit many 'ordinary' hard working families in the capital.
Even Tory Children's Minister Tim Loughton told Channel 4 News the move could be in need of more work.
He said: "If there are ways we can look at compensating measures for those genuinely in need, that will be looked at in future budgets."
But the prize for most entertaining piece of telly today has to go to Sky who broadcast Loughton desperately trying to escape the media spotlight who wanted to clarify his thoughts on a rethink.
Fast-trotting through Birming convention centre trailed by a media scrum, he didn't want to take the opportunity to explain what he meant.
Later, when the cameras caught up with him, Mr Loughton said:
I am very happy with the policy that George Osborne announced yesterday. It’s tough, it’s a difficult choice but it’s fair. End of. End of.
And to every other question, Mr Loughton replied: End of. End of.
Question: …does that imply you’re going to try and bring in measures to mitigate this?
Tory Minister: End of. End of.
Question: End of what?
Tory Minister: End of.
And that was the end of
Monday, October 04, 2010
Women and Children first for cuts...
The unfairness of detail in Tory cuts in child benefits shows that while the Conservatives claim to support the family, they haven't got a clue.
Despite promising to keep universal child benefit BEFORE the election, they've come up with a complete dog's breakfast to force families and children to pay for the deficit.
Under the plan announced today, if one parent earns over £44k a year and the other stops at home to raise the kids, the Tories will take all the child benefit away - over £30 a week if they have two kiddies.
But if they put the kids in day-care so and both go out to earn £43k each - a household income of £86k, under the Tory plan the family will keep all child benefits.
Crazy or just Conservative?
Despite promising to keep universal child benefit BEFORE the election, they've come up with a complete dog's breakfast to force families and children to pay for the deficit.
Under the plan announced today, if one parent earns over £44k a year and the other stops at home to raise the kids, the Tories will take all the child benefit away - over £30 a week if they have two kiddies.
But if they put the kids in day-care so and both go out to earn £43k each - a household income of £86k, under the Tory plan the family will keep all child benefits.
Crazy or just Conservative?
Tory heartlands 'pissed off' over latest cuts...?
The Tories are 'pi**ing off' the Conservatives core vote by cutting universal child benefit.
Not my words, but those of a Tory Minister, according to Channel 4's CutsCheck blog fronted by Cathy Newman.
She says CutsCheck is:
'...getting wind of a ministerial revolt over George Osborne’s announcement this afternoon.
One minister told me just now he had four emails from constituents complaining about it within an hour of the chancellor leaving the stage. He said: “We’re p***ing off our core vote.
We’re supposed to be the party of the hard-working family.” He went on to protest that the chancellor had sprung the decision on ministers, and that it appeared to have been hurriedly put together.
A cabinet minister has just told me the cut was a “complete bombshell” – he hadn’t been given any advance warning either....
Tune in to C4 at 7pm!!
UPDATE: Among those urging the ConDems not to make children pay off the deficit today was the Centre for Social Justice.
The think-tank' chief executive described the cuts announced today as a 'dirty' way of paying off the deficit and urged a re-think.
As the BBC reports, the Centre for Social Justice was founded by Iain Duncan Smith, the Conservative's Welfare Minister!!
Not my words, but those of a Tory Minister, according to Channel 4's CutsCheck blog fronted by Cathy Newman.
She says CutsCheck is:
'...getting wind of a ministerial revolt over George Osborne’s announcement this afternoon.
One minister told me just now he had four emails from constituents complaining about it within an hour of the chancellor leaving the stage. He said: “We’re p***ing off our core vote.
We’re supposed to be the party of the hard-working family.” He went on to protest that the chancellor had sprung the decision on ministers, and that it appeared to have been hurriedly put together.
A cabinet minister has just told me the cut was a “complete bombshell” – he hadn’t been given any advance warning either....
Tune in to C4 at 7pm!!
UPDATE: Among those urging the ConDems not to make children pay off the deficit today was the Centre for Social Justice.
The think-tank' chief executive described the cuts announced today as a 'dirty' way of paying off the deficit and urged a re-think.
As the BBC reports, the Centre for Social Justice was founded by Iain Duncan Smith, the Conservative's Welfare Minister!!
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