No 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.