Should the Conservatives tell where the cuts will fall?

[rollonthesummer]

The press and Labour are suggesting that because the Conservatives aren't saying where these £12 billion of cuts will happen, that it's going to be somewhere very unpopular-eg removing child benefit for all but on the very lowest income (ie you qualify for universal credit).

Shouldn't it be the case that they should say before the election where the cuts will fall allowing us to vote with all the information we need.

They should indeed
It won't be pensioners or the well off. I suspect it will be the usual targets i.e the disabled unemployed and families.

Yep. And their refusal tells you something. They know most people won't like it.

I think they should have to tell us :(

I presume it won't be in their manifesto this week then?

We have three children, both work (have post-graduate qualifications) involving thousands and thousands of pounds of commuting costs each year, yet aren't lucky enough to be in professions that command high salaries. We earn over the amount for Universal Credit, but just cannot afford to lose £190 a month. We can't work any harder :(

I'd like to know from Labour where all the money will come from to fund their ideas.

The Magic Labour Money Tree was burned down long ago!

Yes, and for fairness I would like to hear where Labour are going to spend the cash (hopefully not give £250 of cash to well off pregnant women again to buy nice buggies) and how The Greens are going to have sufficient funds when they a) give free and yet good social care to the elderly and b) let everyone into the country!

Yes of course they should tell us. They know that it makes people suspicious when they refuse to say where the cuts will fall. Presumably, they think that suspicion is less damaging than actually telling us the truth. I dread to think what they have in mind.

Tbh, with all of the other giveaways that they're promising - £8billion for the NHS, paid leave for "voluntary" work, new tax cuts for the rich - I'd be surprised if they don't end up cutting much more than £12billion from the welfare budget.

Perhaps the question should not be what they will cut, but rather what they will keep. It might not be much!

I'd like to know from Labour where all the money will come from to fund their ideas.

Which ideas? They have said where the funding will come from for quite a lot of their policies.

More than can be said for the Tories. But perhaps their magic money tree is still intact?

The Tories have already said they will make welfare cuts. I'm not sure what more you want them to say?

Yes of course they should tell people exactly what and when they intend to cut. It is not some big secret you keep from the electorate. How do you vote for a party of you have no idea what they intend to do? Same goes for all the parties. Their financial plan should be clear to everyone.

I don't think the £12 billion in welfare cuts that they have talked about will be enough to cover all of their recent promises and continue to reduce the deficit. Besides, they seem curiously reticent about where the welfare cuts are going to fall. I can't imagine why!

Which Labour policies were you wondering about, ponio?

I'm not sure what more you want them to say?

I want to know what their plans for child benefit are.

I actually think that all parties should have to produce a fully costed plan, verified by an independent body like the institute of fiscal studies. Then we could truly make informed comparisons.

I also think there should be some sort of legal obligation for parties to follow through on their election promises - there would have to be some allowances for unexpected events/changes, but at the moment, too many people are making promises that they'll never keep!

Well to be fair, they've told us where they cuts won't be:

tax cuts for people inheriting million pound houses

and fewer people to pay Higher Rate income tax.

Austerity, innit?

I actually think that all parties should have to produce a fully costed plan, verified by an independent body like the institute of fiscal studies. Then we could truly make informed comparisons.

Absolutely. If they a) aren't prepared to give us figures and b) don't have to follow through on their election promises, then they might as well all just promise all houses will be fitted with taps spurting virgin unicorn tears for all the use these campaigns are!

Yes they should. I expect they are not because it isn't possible to cut £12 billion without cancelling some benefits entirely, and when they announce which ones there will be outcry.

It is mostly irrelevant anyway, the debt is a staggering 1.5 trillion pounds. It was something like 850 billion under Labour, so all the misery of austerity has not helped to reduce it at all, even though that is ostensibly the justification for these policies.
Neither of the main parties are financially competent, which is why they are unwilling to give details of their policies.

Yes they should. I expect they are not because it isn't possible to cut £12 billion without cancelling some benefits entirely, and when they announce which ones there will be outcry.

They should be forced to say what they are going to do before the election though, otherwise we are just voting blind :(

We're voting blind anyway - it's not like political parties keep to their manifesto pledges...

The pre-election pledges that the Tories are trying to wipe from the internet

"No frontline cuts", "no top-down NHS reorganisations", "no VAT rise" - why the Conservatives are trying to erase all pre-May 2010 speeches and press releases from the internet.

www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/11/pre-election-pledges-tories-are-trying-wipe-internet

I don't understand why conservative voters still vote for them?! Do these lies just not bother them?

Because 90% of people in the UK vote tribally.

Depressing.

bbc

Chancellor George Osborne has said details will be set out in a post-election spending review.

I think this just takes the piss!

If it's such a brilliant idea-tell us now.

It would be useful to know where the cuts are intended to be, certainly. I would like to know what Labour intends to cut as well, since they have also said there will need to be cuts. They have said they will "cap social security" and that they want to cut the deficit every year, so they must have their plans in place too. I don't think I've heard Labour put a figure on the level of cuts they want to make though.

Why does Osborne need a post-election spending review? He is the current Chancellor and should therefore know the state of the economy and what needs to be done now. Why does he need a few more weeks to make something up? I'd accept that point from any other political party as they would need to correlate their spending plans with the actual money available when they came into power, but not from the Conservatives.

Chancellor George Osborne has said details will be set out in a post-election spending review.

Wow.

So does that translate as

"No one would vote for us if we were honest about what we were planning"

or

"I'm clueless and have no plans, I just want to stay in power."