Advance warning: Here’s what Cameron will be saying in the leader debate

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Vox Political is grateful to the spy who provided the above information on Cameron’s talking-points for the televised leader debate this evening.

From 8pm, he’ll be trying to present these as facts – but are they? Let’s see:

Firstly, governments don’t create jobs. Ideally, they create the conditions in which employers create jobs and in that respect, Cameron’s effort has been lousy. We have 800,000 more zero-hours jobs than in 2010 – a total of 1,800,000 people with no job security, who cannot claim holiday pay or sick pay. That’s brilliant for employers like Duncan Bannatyne and the other goons who put their name to CCHQ’s letter in yesterday’s Torygraph – and a living hell for you.

Next, the claim that the deficit has been halved was only ever accurate as a percentage of GDP, which has been increasing through no design of the Conservative Party’s. It seems our economy hit its lowest point somewhere in 2013 and then started bouncing back in the right direction of its own accord. That’s what the economic cycle does, you see. So what happens if we hit another downturn? Well, then the deficit grows and the claim that it has been halved can no longer be made. In numerical terms, it hasn’t happened at all; George Osborne inherited a deficit of around £130-140 billion and cut it to around £90-100 billion.

Capping benefits is no way to ensure that work always pays. Increasing wages is the way to do that. Cutting income tax helps the rich more than the poor. Tories don’t like you to think about that, though – they want you to concentrate on the slight improvement to your pittance.

The claim that Labour will create more taxes and more debt has been debunked – comprehensively and in a most damning fashion – by the Institute for Fiscal Studies. It is foolish nonsense. And why is Cameron keen to talk about Labour’s plans? Is it because he refuses to explain where the Conservatives will make £12 billion in cuts to benefit payments?

The claim that Labour will ally with the SNP is a dream shared by David Cameron and Nicola Sturgeon. Labour currently has no intention of making any such alliance. Why is David Cameron keen to discuss what Labour will do in a Hung Parliament, rather than what the Conservatives will do? The polls currently indicate he has no hope of achieving a Parliamentary majority and this writer would rather know how David Cameron intends to stay in office – not how he thinks Ed Miliband would take over.

Finally, the question of a referendum on membership of the European Union is a non-starter with most of the electorate. UKIP has made a lot of noise, but less than one-fifth of the voting public want anything to do with that party. Cameron wants a referendum because it will keep the Eurosceptics in his own party quiet – that’s all. It’s nothing to do with what you want.

And that’s all he has to offer today. Not a lot, is it?

Let’s see how many he manages to mention – and how the others shoot him down.

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4 Comments

  1. The Infamous Culex April 2, 2015 at 6:53 pm - Reply

    Governments can create jobs – in the Civil Service!

    Cameron’s kakistocracy, however, cut Civil Service recruitment.

  2. bookmanwales April 2, 2015 at 9:06 pm - Reply

    Watched the debate and unsurprisingly no surprises. Controversy avoided so nothing new mentioned by any of the leaders.
    Camoron (deliberate mistake) dragged up Labour’s past which was not unexpected but failed to convince that Tory plans were actually working.
    No answer on where the £12 billion of welfare cuts will fall just simply ignored the question.
    “2 million new jobs” the most common words from Camorons mouth failing to mention that 1 million were those sacked from the public sector by the Tories in the first place. “2 million new apprenticeships” parroted Clegg again failing to mention they are in hairdressing, shelf stacking and other unskilled vocations.

    All in all a disappointing debate not worthy of the hype….

    • Jonathan Wilson April 3, 2015 at 12:11 pm - Reply

      I’m going from memory here so forgive me if I can’t give exact figures or links to stats.

      The UE rate dropped by about 800,000, so that reduction some how fits 2 million “new” jobs? I think not

      Moving a job from gov to private while still performing the same basic task is not a “new” job, its just a way for exs and shareholders to cream profits from a state function.

      People on “workfare” are not employed, although they count as such and count as not being UE. A huge con.

      People sanctioned don’t count as UE, they just don’t count at all. Another huge con.

      Companies splitting jobs or using ZHC’s to avoid paying full time indirect expenses (holiday pay/NI/Sick/Etc.) doesn’t count as “new” jobs, its a single old job now done by multiple people. Yet another huge con.

  3. Stephen Bee April 2, 2015 at 9:55 pm - Reply

    Two immediate points spring to mind 1) The seeming ‘afterthought’ when mid sentence Clegg said that Simon Stevens was ‘independent’ As a former , (I think) CEO of Unum from USA, who presided over a company whose whole ethos is ‘Private Healthcare! Hardly independent. 2) Nobody picked up on Cameron after he said he’ll save 12 billion from Welfare BUT ONLY 5 Billion from Tax avoidance/evasion.! Hello?….so the poor have to pay a larger share than the rich AGAIN!….who a) can afford to pay more and b) avoid and evade at will with implicit agreement of this government. I believe its estaimated that 120 billion gets avoided or evaded every year in lost tax revenues…tho am happy to be corrected if my figures are innacurate tho I think the principles involoved do stand up to scrutiny?

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