Nicola Smith

Today the Conservatives have published their plans to ‘Get Britain Working‘. They propose a new welfare to work scheme called the ‘Work Programme’, which will be funded by cutting the Future Jobs Fund and all of the New Deals and other existing welfare to work schemes and pilots. Interestingly – despite their stated aim of making sharp cuts in public spending as a means to reduce the deficit – the total cost of this completely privately delivered programme is projected to be more than Labour’s projected spend on welfare to work (although no comparisons are provided with existing skills budgets – and I would imagine this may hide a cut), hence a £600 million shortfall, which the Conservatives have pledged to fund by moving around 20% of current IB claimants onto JSA.

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• Are these funds fit for purpose? | Money | The Guardian
  The central role of the fund management industry in the financial meltdown of the past few years has barely been examined, says Patrick Collinson

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• Odd comments from the NAPF…
  Tom P looks at some odd remarks from the NAPF Chair, Chris Hitchen, in a letter to the Guardian.
• Brendan Barber replies in Guardian letters
  Brendan also replied to Chris Hitchen, with his own letter to the Guardian.
• Cameron’s ‘typical family’ is a rich one
  Liberal Conspiracy analyses David Cameron’s Council Tax pledge

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Nicola Smith

One of David Cameron’s recent pledges has been to “reassess 2.6 million people on Incapacity Benefit to see if they are fit for work” – this is an interesting development given that:

a) it was Conservative Governments who were responsible for moving thousands of people onto IB in the first place and;

b) the numbers of people claiming have been falling under Labour, in part due to more disabled people moving into jobs.

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Nigel Stanley

David Cameron is remarkably coy about the new 50p tax rate in the Spectator. He seems to be saying, “I’m not falling into the Labour trap of giving a clear commitment to repeal it, but I’m going to leave enough wiggle room to be able to repeal it after an election.”  The Guardian is right to headline this “Cameron to scrap 50p tax if it proves a failure.”

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Adam Lent

David Cameron has made ten pledges to the British people today (in The Sun, of course). Here are some notable points:

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Owen Tudor

Sam Brittan, writing in the Financial Times, draws attention to historical precedents for the current ‘high’ level of public sector debt. And he outlines the case for calming down about whether cuts are necessary. Treasury projections suggests public sector debt will reach 76% of GDP, just under half the level it was in 1956 when Harold Macmillan was Prime Minister. Did the Government then respond by slashing and burning public services? No it did not. Growth reduced the debt.  The same is true now. Growth is the best solution to public sector debt. Continuing recession would only make it worse. Sadly, it is out of fashion to learn from the past!

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• Stumbling and Mumbling: Public borrowing, private lending
  Chris Dillow says that making cuts “at a time when the private sector is unable or unwilling to borrow and spend is a recipe for depressing demand. The message is simple. Looking at government borrowing properly – that is, as the counterpart of private lending – suggests either that spending cuts might be unnecessary, or that they could be downright damaging.”
• Middle Britain is not where you think it is – Hopi Sen
  Hopi contributes to the middle Britain debate

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Nigel Stanley

For much of the media the only question is how big spending cuts should be and how quickly they should happen.

Many economists disagree. And now we know that voters are sceptical too.

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Philip Pearson

At a meeting in Bangkok with Michael Zammit Cutajar, the Chair of the UN climate negotiations now in session, ITUC representatives expressed satisfaction at seeing the call for a “Just Transition” in the current UN negotiating text. The Just Transition clause is one of the key demands for labour internationally in the drive to a low carbon future.

Mr Zammit Cutajar encouraged the trade union delegation to work further with their governmental delegations in order to promote a sustainable and socially-fair agreed outcome in Copenhagen.

Great news, then, that the UK’s Environment Secretary, Ed Miliband, acknowledged the strategic value of Just Transition in his speech to the TUC’s annual Congress last week (16 September 2009):

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