The Tories: Failing to support the economy in 2010

The Tories: Failing to support the economy in 2010

• The Tories have refused to set out their plans for 2010/11, but what they have been clear about is
their opposition to Labour’s fiscal stimulus.

“That’s why I’m a fiscal conservative. That’s why, when it came to that big decision to oppose the VAT cut and the so-called fiscal stimulus, I didn’t consult a focus group or an opinion poll I just knew it was the right thing to do.” David Cameron, Speech to Conservative Spring Forum, 26 April 2009

“I mean if you take the last two years you’ve had Labour and Conservative in a really big battle. The Labour Party has been saying spend, spend, spend, borrow, borrow, borrow, let’s have a big fiscal stimulus, let’s cut taxes like VAT and you have the Conservative Party, me principally, saying ‘no, this is the wrong approach’. David Cameron, BBC Radio 5, 24 April 2009

• Support for the construction industry was a key part of the fiscal stimulus. This package has maintained or created 160,000 jobs across this year and the next. £840m of the Housing Pledge
money has allowed housing associations to build new affordable housing. Public money is being used to ‘kickstart’ building sites stalled by the recession and the collapse in construction – none of which would have happened under the Conservatives.

• The Conservatives have also criticised increased spending in 2010/11. If they were to reverse those specific increases, key recovery policies, like the Strategic Investment Fund, could be hit.

“Total spending is planned to go up by £31 billion in nominal terms, or by more than two per cent in real terms. During a period when the Treasury expects the economy to be growing by at least two per cent, and with the largest budget deficit of any developed economy, I think that is simply not credible.” George  Osborne, Speech at the LSE, 14 January 2010

“You can’t deal with this deficit through spending alone, of course you can’t but you can show that you are  serious about it and it’s time for this government to get serious, to put away their pathetic dividing lines, to put away their moral cowardice in not dealing with this issue and to behave like a grown-up government  looking the British public in the eye and saying we have a problem, we’re going to deal with it with you as we’ve been suggesting now for months and months and months.” David Cameron, Monthly Press Conference, 25 January 2010

• The Conservatives have also promised to divert funding from all Labour’s existing employment
programmes – including the Future Jobs Fund. The Fund aims to create 170,000 additional jobs,
mainly starting next year and primarily aimed at 18-24 year olds who have been out of work for six months to deliver real benefits to communities – those jobs would not be created under the Tory plans.

“We will replace Labour’s numerous unemployment programmes with one flagship programme – The Work Programme.” Conservative Party Policy Document “Get Britain Working” 5 October 2009, p29 Annex A: All employment programmes and pilots run by the DWP as of August 2009 Future Jobs Fund Conservative Party Policy Document “Get Britain Working” 5 October 2009, p59