Wednesday 12 May 2010

Policies starting to filter through....

Following the Cameron-Clegg press conference at 1420 from the Rose Garden at 10 Downing Street we are starting to see a fuller picture of what the new coalition holds, policy wise. One observation that the country is being run by 'characters from a Richard Curtis movie' did make me laugh, indeed it was very much a love-in with lots of quips and witty comments. However, pleasantries aside - what is actually going to happen and what impact will it have on our daily lives; so far we know pretty much the following:

  • 3rd runway at Heathrow to be scrapped - good news for environmentalists? 
  • £1million inheritance tax threshold scrapped, sticking at £325k for now - bad news for property millionaires who might die soon? 
  • Implementation of a 'plane tax' another one for the greens, but doubtless meaning an increase in airfares?
  • Changes to the Child Trust Fund, a given really but likely to mean scrapping the vouchers for middle income families and retaining for lower income families
  • From April 2011 minimum tax threshold will increase to £10k
  • Spending cuts of £6bn to be found this fiscal year, money to be raised through cuts, not increasing taxes- hard times ahead for all?
  • And the 'jobs tax' the crux of the Tories entire campaign, rather quietly it looks likely that the increase in NI will take place in April 2011 although the increase will only apply for employees, not employers...a nod to those businessmen that backed Cameron with their letter writing campaign?
  • The cap on non-EU immigration will be implemented, despite the difference in immigration policy between the two parties - still no detail though on how this will be implemented. Surely a huge challenge? 
A really interesting change to a five year fixed electoral term, personally I think this is a great idea in the name of democracy and open government. But the question still remains - will our two foppish heroes still be buddies come the third Thursday in May 2015?

Lots more detail likely to come through in the coming days; but please post your thoughts on what we have so far...

See link for the full policy document: 
www.conservatives.com/~/media/Files/.../agreement.ashx?dl=true

1 comment:

  1. "strong and stable government"

    seems to be the new catchphrase

    just for entertainment purposes i hope that one of the mp's has a breakdown similar to Warren Beatty in Bulworth... worth a look if you've never seen it.

    ReplyDelete