Tories promise to help pensioners
Latest in UK Politics
On Facebook
From the blogs
Roy Hodgson for England: A club of one
To argue against Harry Redknapp for England is akin to arguing in favour of bankers bonuses. While s...
Time for a reality check on the Sri Lankan civil war
Sri Lanka, much like Britain, has side-lined accountability long enough.
Children Of Alcoholics week: One million children may just be the tip of the iceberg
Children Of Alcoholics week starts today. So, what are the aims for Nacoa during this important week...
Review of Being Human: ‘Being Human 1955’
Following on from an episode tinged with tragedy, this week lifted the mood with something lighter.
The Conservatives outlined plans to axe increases in national insurance and reduce the tax burden on pensioners and savers yesterday as part of a new year assault on Labour.
George Osborne, the shadow Chancellor, said he wanted to reverse Labour's planned increase in national insurance for employers and employees.
He said he was also considering measures to cut the tax burden on savers and pensioners who have been hit by dramatic cuts in interest rates
His move is designed to put ground between Labour and the Conservatives, heralding a general election battle over future tax rises and the cost of borrowing to fund the Government's fiscal stimulus package. Conservatives have condemned increasing government borrowing to pay for a 2.5 per cent cut in tax and have poured scorn on the prospect of tax increases after the next election to fund short-term injections of cash into the economy.
Yesterday, David Cameron and Mr Osborne foreshadowed their winter offensive against the Prime Minister, stepping up their attacks on Gordon Brown's stewardship of the economy.
Mr Cameron accused Mr Brown of "economic crimes", insisting that the Prime Minister had driven Britain to "the brink of bankruptcy". Mr Osborne said the Government's spending policies were turning the country into "a bankrupt country on the verge of becoming the sick man of Europe again with high unemployment".
Yesterday, Mr Osborne told The Sunday Times: "I am not writing my 2010 Budget now but my priority is to try to reverse the increase in national insurance because it is a tax that affects the vast majority of people in Britain. It is a tax on incomes at a time when people will be under severe strain."
National insurance will rise by 0.5 per cent for employers and employees from 2011 – well after the latest possible date for a general election – under plans announced by the Chancellor, Alistair Darling. Mr Osborne, who has dropped his party's pledge to maintain Labour's spending plans, promised that any tax cuts would be funded through reductions in public spending or increases in other taxes.
Aides said the party would outline in the coming months how any planned tax cut would be funded but pointed to the fact that Mr Osborne had targeted cuts in national insurance, which is paid by people earning more than £20,000, rather than focussing on Labour's proposed new 45 per cent top rate of tax on the highest earners. Mr Osborne also signalled help for savers and pensioners, arguing they are "the innocent victims of Gordon Brown's incompetence. These are the people who did the right thing in the age of irresponsibility. They get penalised by the understandable reductions in the Bank of England base rate."
Angela Eagle, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, said yesterday: "George Osborne is happy to try to grab headlines with vague talk about tax cuts but as usual he can't say anything about how he would pay for them."
- 1 Murdoch hit by threat of new legal fight in US
- 2 Lightning kills an entire football team
- 3 Eight arrests as Murdoch 'throws staff to the wolves'
- 4 I was born to be a killer. Every night I see the Devil in my dreams
- 5 What really happened on the bridge when the Costa Concordia crashed
- 6 Letters raise fears for last Briton in Guantanamo
- 7 BBC to issue global apology for documentaries that broke rules
- 1 Eight arrests as Murdoch 'throws staff to the wolves'
- 2 I was born to be a killer. Every night I see the Devil in my dreams
- 3 Spotify: 1 million plays, £108 return
- 4 Lightning kills an entire football team
- 5 Modern lovers: The 'sexual body warriors' and pioneers transforming 21st-century relationships
- 6 BBC to issue global apology for documentaries that broke rules
- 7 Mona Lisa's 'twin sister' is discovered – 500 years late
- 8 Best served cold: BBC canteen has the last laugh on Twitter
- 9 Pucker up: The art of kissing
- 10 Did Banksy's latest work bring misery to a homeless man?
Free trial of new Independent iPad app
Get your daily dose of the best of British journalism, sponsored by American Airlines
Win a three-week coastal jaunt
Spend three weeks exploring every nook and cranny of gorgeous Atlantic Canada.
Amazing restaurant offers
Three glasses of free champagne and a special menu at 46 top London restaurants.
Latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Day In a Page
Apple admits it has a human rights problem
James Lawton: AVB looks all at sea
Procrastination: Not now – I'm busy
Silent revolution at the Baftas
The diva who had – and lost – it all


Comments