Danny Alexander
Transcript: Balls vs Alexander on tax credits
On the Today programme this morning, Ed Balls aired his criticisms of the government’s tax credit changes — which come in tomorrow. He was followed by Danny Alexander, who emphasised… Continue reading
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Balls goes on the attack over tax credits
After all the commotion about various policies in last month’s Budget, the focus this morning has shifted to measures announced back in 2010. Why? Because they take effect tomorrow. So… Continue reading
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Spending will become more significant as 2015 approaches
Four days after George Osborne signed its death warrant, there is still life in the 50p rate yet. The two main political interviews in today’s papers — Ed Miliband in… Continue reading
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Twelve points about the Budget
There’s much to applaud in this budget, but as ever we in Coffee House are focusing on things jumping out from the small print. Here are a few things I’ve… Continue reading
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Raise the tax threshhold and let youth prevail
Youth unemployment is approaching crisis levels in Britain. For almost two decades, Britain’s more flexible labour market had favourable effects on youth employment. But the re-regulation of the British economy… Continue reading
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Why George should listen to Danny
In the new Spectator, we back the Liberal Democrats’ plans to raise the tax threshold to £10,000 — provided that the money is found by cuts in state spending rather… Continue reading
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The tax debate at the heart of the Budget
The run-up to last year’s Budget was all about fuel duty. This year it’ll be all about direct taxes. The Lib Dems are determined to put their manifesto pledge of… Continue reading
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Tory Ministers need to back the Health Bill
Tomorrow’s Downing Street meeting on the implementation of the health reforms is meant to send the message that the bill is definitely going ahead. Number 10 is keen to shore… Continue reading
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Nick Clegg’s NHS squeeze
Andrew Lansley’s career prospects were boosted yesterday — when Simon Hughes said that he should ‘move on’ after the NHS reforms have been implemented. Since then, Downing Street has redoubled… Continue reading
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Warming up for the Budget
The Budget negotiations within government are now underway. The quad of Cameron, Clegg, Osborne and Alexander held a meeting last week to discuss their priorities for the Budget on March… Continue reading
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The 50p tax debate won’t be settled this year — but it might be escalated
More evidence this morning that the government won’t be dropping the 50p rate any time soon, in the form of an interview with Danny Alexander. ‘This is not the time… Continue reading
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The government’s Hester problem intensifies
First there was Fred Goodwin, now there’s Stephen Hester. The chief executive of RBS is fast becoming the bête noire of the British banking system, thanks to his roughly £1… Continue reading
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Benefitting the Tories
The longer the row over the benefit cap goes on, the better it will be for the Tories. The cap chimes with the public’s sense of fairness. Polls show massive… Continue reading
36 CommentsAn early Christmas present for the coalition
It has only taken several months of bitter negotiation and a national strike to get here, but a deal between the unions and the government over public sector pensions could… Continue reading
18 CommentsBaseline advantage
One of the advantages the governing party has during an election campaign is the ability to set the baseline. It is your plans which every other parties’ are measured against.… Continue reading
10 CommentsThe importance of being earnest
The absence of growth and the importance of credibility are recurring themes in this morning’s papers. John Lord Hutton has told the BBC that revised growth figures make pension reform even… Continue reading
11 CommentsThe Autumn Statement Makes a Tory-Lib Dem Electoral Pact More Likely
Amidst the economic doom and gloom (though all the forecasts are always wrong so who knows how things will look by 2015?), the politics of the coalition government remain interesting.… Continue reading
6 CommentsIf Clegg wants to reduce youth unemployment, then he’s going to have to look at regulation
Nick Clegg’s interview in The Times today presages a major Lib Dem effort to try and promote policies to reduce youth unemployment. With figures out on Wednesday expected to show… Continue reading
14 CommentsUnion bosses: Thanks for the concessions, but the strike’s still on
The TUC have just released a statement responding to the tweaked public sector pensions package that I blogged about earlier. It is, in part, fairly conciliatory; saying that the group… Continue reading
24 CommentsThe pensions battle rages on
An "enhanced offer" is how Treasury types are describing the revised pensions package that will be put before union bosses today — and so it is. As far as we… Continue reading
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