No Miliband, No SNP But Red Meat At Last

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 14 April 2015 | 23.17

The Wiltshire sunshine shone on David Cameron as he arrived off the campaign bus at a Swindon technical college built under the Coalition.

Perhaps it reinvigorated the Prime Minister's longstanding political relationship with solar rays because this speech and this manifesto had more of the sunshine optimism and "Good Life" so lacking in the first weeks of the Tory campaign.

There was no mention of Ed Miliband in the speech at all. There was no mention even of the SNP in the speech.

Why would he, one might ask. Why did he in the first words of the campaign on Downing Street after meeting the Queen?

:: For Full General Election 2015 Coverage

What we clearly got today is more new red meat than at Labour's launch yesterday.

The Right to Buy extension to housing association tenants was first mentioned in 1979 in Mrs Thatcher's famous manifesto, but with the caveat "as far as possible".

That caveat was there because there can be no simple repeat of the signature Tory 1980s policy.

Housing associations are independent charities that need to raise funds on private markets.

The success of RIght to Buy in spreading mass participation owner occupancy was undermined by failing to replace lost housing stock. There were 1.5 million fewer council homes as a result.

:: David Cameron Profile

And the Conservatives recognised this today by promising to replace every sold home. Yet they made the same promise when Right to Buy was first re-launched in 2012 and less than half of the homes sold have been replaced.

The funding for this plan which, including new brownfield homes, will cost up to £18bn over the course of the next parliament - will see 15,000 expensive council homes sold and replaced with cheaper ones per year.

That is a punchy costing of a process that hasn't been tried on this scale before.

If it did raise this much would it make sense to concentrate the giveaway on a few hundred thousand lucky housing association tenants? Would they qualify for mortgages?

Until 1993 Right to Buy tenants got 100% mortgages from local authorities. There are all sorts of restrictions currently in place on mortgage lending.

:: Right to Buy - Your Questions Answered

Clearly this is an attempt to appeal to the skilled worker C2 voters won over by the Tories in the 1980s.

Latest polls show them falling for Mr Miliband. But perhaps times are different - the real housing pressure is not in the social sector but in the private rented sector.

Still, alongside new policy on keeping minimum wage jobs out of the tax system, and extra childcare for three and four year olds funded by the raid on the pensions of the high paid (which also funds the inheritance tax cut), the Tories have a notable suite of "retail offers" to press home on the doorstep.

It is an attempt to persuade slightly sceptical Britain that the long-term plan will work for them. That families who value security shouldn't take a risk. The calculation is that there are enough voters in this position to win the election.

:: Labour Manifesto At A Glance

:: Conservative Manifesto At A Glance

The polls suggest that is not at all certain. But above all Tory strategists think they have now trapped Labour - Mr Miliband's party cannot now offer any unfunded commitments or giveaways to improve the lives of voters.

The Conservative strategy of unfunded giveaways is not without risks. I asked the PM about the dangers of pledged £8bn additional funding for the NHS by 2020 without spelling out the how.

He said: "All our commitments are funded as part of our fiscal plan." He added that, unlike Labour, the Conservatives offered a "clear and balanced plan" and their track record meant they could be trusted to deliver.

I'd have asked a follow up, but the Conservative media handlers were oddly reluctant for any journalists to hold the microphone!

Labour promises it has some high profile policies up its sleeve. But the Conservatives have made the most of the manifesto showcase.

Now if only we could debate the actual policy platforms of the leaders.

:: Click Here To Make Your Own Government With Our Shaker Maker


Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

No Miliband, No SNP But Red Meat At Last

Dengan url

http://belomtidur.blogspot.com/2015/04/no-miliband-no-snp-but-red-meat-at-last.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

No Miliband, No SNP But Red Meat At Last

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

No Miliband, No SNP But Red Meat At Last

sebagai sumbernya

0 komentar:

Posting Komentar

techieblogger.com Techie Blogger Techie Blogger