Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Clegg: "Gordon Brown and David Cameron are con-men trying to fool the British public."

“First we have an expensive VAT cut that doesn’t help people and now the Prime Minister announces he will create 100,000 jobs without any idea of how.
“David Cameron is offering his own fake giveaway. Cutting savings tax will mean someone saving £100 will only get an extra 40p a year.
“If David Cameron is going to be taken seriously he has to identify what cuts he will make. How many fewer police officers will there be on the street and who will have a smaller pension?
“The Liberal Democrats are the only party with a detailed plan on how to put Britain on a green road out of recession. We have set out how we would make big, permanent and fair tax cuts, giving £1,000 in income tax cuts to families on average incomes.”

Green Road out of Recession
Before Christmas, Nick Clegg set out Liberal Democrat plans to put Britain on a Green Road out of the Recession, creating jobs and leaving a legacy that will save energy, put money back into people’s pockets and fight climate change.
The plans will cost £12.5bn, which would be paid for by scrapping the proposed VAT cut. The vast majority of that money will be spent immediately, making a real impact on the economy and people’s lives right away.
The Green Road out of the Recession proposals to create jobs include:
· A five-year programme to insulate every school and hospital, with 20% completed in the first year
· Funding insulation and energy efficiency for a million homes, with a £1,000 subsidy for a million more
· Building 40,000 extra zero-carbon social houses
· Buying 700 new train carriages
· Reopening old railway lines and stations, opening new ones, electrifying the Great Western and Midland mainlines and beginning the Liverpool light rail network
· Installing energy and money saving smart meters in every home within five years

1 comment:

Frank Little said...

Many of these measures will benefit only England directly. For instance, money for homes may be apportioned to Wales, but there is no guarantee that the Assembly Government will pass it on.

There is also some sleight-of-hand with respect to the restoration of the VAT cut. This is financed from borrowing by the Labour government. Clegg's proposals do not reduce the level of borrowing, merely switch the purpose. Admittedly, the target (spending on infrastructure, and therefore job creation) is more sensible, but surely we should not be continuing this government's irresponsible plunge into debt?