Labour and Tory manifestos, the cover story
They sit at opposing ends in the Parliament, have radically distinct policies and have now positioned themselves even further away from each other with the official campaign manifestos. This week has seen the launch of both the Labor and Conservative manifesto publications and, before delving in the substance of the plans and the promises, a look at the form of them is equally intriguing.
The ruling party has long been labelled by their opposition as lacking vision, as well as energy. It’s as if the Labour manifesto has set out to contradict just that: bright colours and a lively imagery featuring a family looking towards “A future fair for all“. No doubt a striking image, overly socialist-realist perhaps, but bold enough to be considered cool, some consider. In contrast, the Conservatives certainly lived up to their name, with a simple cover intended to instill distinction, trust, and suggest calm (perhaps by way of experience), encasing the “Invitation to Join The Government of Britain” in a serene dark blue background.
Want to buy your own copies of the Tories and Labour manifestos? You can, but for the moment just the Tory one, which sells for £5 in hardback. Their counterparts only offer theirs as a digital download (also an option for the Conservative’s document), but have announced a paper copy would be made available for £4, should demand create a need for it.
David Cameron’s party might ‘consider’ gay marriage
A protest by quality campaigners outside Tory election headquarters over the weekend prompted Conservative MP George Osborne to declare his party is not ruling out gay marriage. The shadow chancellor met up with a group of gay rights leaders and afterwards said the Tories now have “real policies” in place for the purpose of equality in society. This did little to please gay rights prominent campaigner Peter Tatchell, who rather saw this as a lack of commitment and thought the statement to “consider” the case was in actuality “meaningless”.
Gay couples made some progress in the way of being recognised through the Civil Partnerships Act in 2004, but while this allowed them a number of similar legal treatment as married couples, they are still not referred to as “married” as such.
Tory MP Chris Grayling, shadow home secretary, caused a stir last week after declaring owners of bed and breakfast places should be allowed to refuse service to gay couples. It wasn’t too cautious a remark from a man whose party is hoping to get a record climb back into Parliament seats to get a majority on its own in the May 6 election, and the Conservatives are now having to delve in the issue of gay marriage. This after David Cameron himself promised the party would stay clear of more “divisive” policies that are thought to have marked the Thatcher cabinets in the 80’s.
Tory to cut child benefits, say Labour
Tax increases and benefits are high on the agenda of the main contestants of the general election, and every day is another opportunity to do battle on the issue. With the Tories’ main campaign pledge a massive cut in public spending, the Labour focus on outlining what they say will be the sacrifices for this free-up in expenditure.
While visiting a Dumfries Community Centre yesterday, Labour Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy warned about the perils of The Conservatives’ financial plan on family households in particular. He said one of the components of the package includes a cut on child benefits, as well as the child trust fund, giving as an example a couple on a combined income of £31,000, which he estimated could stand to have their child credits cut completely, should a Tory cabinet be in place after May 6th.
Labour candidate in the constituency Russell Brown accompanied the Scottish Secretary in his visit, with Mr Murphy concluding that Tory leadership would not favour the “hard-working families”.
photo: ForeignOfficeNo job cuts in savings effort, say Tories
A claim by Sir Peter Gershon, Conservative Party adviser, that the Tories plan to save up to £2bn on recruitment has caused a stir among the general public, as financial experts warned this could imply 40,000 job losses in a single year. However, the poll’s current favourites for the May 6 election have come out to say the estimate was based on a halt in hiring in the public sector, rather than job cuts.
This only fueled warnings by their adversaries, as the Labour and Liberal Democrats say massive cost cutting, such as this one, without a tax raise and whilst keeping the job count intact, are not “credible” plans as such. This is especially important for the Labour, with Gordon Brown’s team having to convince the public of the utility and success potential of a financial plan based on raising National Insurance in 2011.
Tory officials have given Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs as an example of an institution that could fund the cost-cutting, saying around 20,000 vacant positions there would be included in the hiring freeze to save jobs elsewhere. Overall, the Conservatives are planning to save an estimated £12bn, of which half would likely go to other government departments.
Tories propose citizen service for 16-year-olds
Conservative MP David Cameron, campaigning for his party’s general election effort, has put forward a citizen service scheme under which 16 year olds would be encouraged to take up voluntary work in their areas and getting involved in community work or all sorts of outdoor activity. Some see this as a reaction to the Labour Party’s Youth Community Action scheme, an initiative that kicked off last month, seeing teens between 14 and 16 years of age similarly encouraged to get together and take up voluntary work in their home communities.
Mr Cameron’s plan aims to “mix young people from different backgrounds, ethnicities and religions”, in a way that the Tory MP says isn’t happening at the moment. Social responsibilty and serving one’s communities are other domensions which the political leader thinks the plan will shape in the young participants.
Labour pledge no raise in basic rate in income tax
With the election debates due to heavily revolve around tax levels, national insurance and job security, Gordon Brown has come out early on to reveal that his party’s campaign pledge will announce a commitment to keep the basic rate in income tax. Some are even expecting the Labour Party to promise a freeze in all three income tax rates, including the 50p one, which has just come in effect this week.
It is, however, only one of many issues that the Conservatives are bringing on the table against the ruling party, as the Labour’s planned National Insurance tax is thought by the opposition to halt economic recovery. In turn, Tory officials are asked to account for a promised £6bn cut in government spending, their main standing point on the promise of largely keeping tax levels down, while reducing the country’s deficit level.
Tax issues held the spotlight on the second (official) day of campaigning, with Foreign Secretary David Miliband stating in an interview that the Tories do not have a solution handy to fund the tax cuts they have been promising. In opposition, Liberal Democrats are stating the poor state of country’s tax revenue will not have them contest the NI tax increase, but that they are striving to exclude the people on the lowest income from paying tax altogether.
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