Labour are after your vote again, pay cut to MP’s, child benefit caps and more cash for the NHS are on offer.
Good old Shadow chancellor Ed Balls has announced the plans while Ed Miliband ha highlighted wages, health and the 50p tax band.
Edward Balls, has laid out his plans to take tough decisions as he reveals the cap on child benefit increases at 1% for the first two years of the next parliament, and force all the overpaid MP’s to take a whacking wait for it, 5% pay cut.
Balls is battling to improve Labour’s credibility in the polls and will defend his decision to back a fiscal stimulus in 2010, but will recommit himself to balancing the books in the next parliament, including keeping child benefit rises below the rate of inflation and slashing MP’s pay by £7.000 a year, this as you know will have absolutely no affect as they will get this back in expenses some where over the course of the year.
His announce his new plans at the Labour party conference in Manchester on Monday, as Insiders were also making it clear that the Labour party will commit more money for our good old NHS, National Health Service, by earmarking money raised by reintroducing the fifty pence top rate of tax.
The Labour Party leader, Edward Miliband, said on Sunday morning TV: “I am very worried about the National Health Service in the next parliament. We are hoping it doesn’t not lose any more money and we want to do more. We will be saying more about that between now and the election.” He reiterated his promise to reinstate the fifty pence top-rate of tax and a levy on homes above £2 million, stating these extra taxes would raise very substantial sums of money for the tax man.
He has ruled out generalised tax rises to pay for the NHS, saying: “If you are asking ‘do I think we should be somehow raising taxes now on everyday normal working people’, I am very wary of that. My government is determined to tackle the cost of living crisis and if we are elected in May that is what we are going to do as the Labour Party.”
The reference to everyday working people leaves him scope to raise other taxes. Miliband said Labour’s decision to raise the minimum wage to £8 an hour by 2020 could save hundreds of millions by reducing the benefits and tax credits bill. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) criticised the plan as undermining the independence of the Low Pay Commission, and profits and competitiveness.
