[Bernard Dawson]

Originally Posted by claytonender

Just a few points for you to ponder on-

The two faces of the Tory party
- The face David Cameron would like you to see and the ugly reality:

• Cameron makes one of his ‘cast iron guarantees’ that the Tories don’t like the National Insurance increase in 2011.
• So what will his party do? He’s instructed his chum, Tatton MP George Osborne, to ‘look at’ NI very carefully. No commitment, just shallow promises.
• In the meantime the Tories say they would go further than the Chancellor’s PBR deficit reducing measures.
• They would cut the deficit ‘faster’ by immediately scrapping the Child Trust Fund, freezing pay and raising the retirement age.
• At the same time Boris Johnson is standing up for the bankers and complaining that a one off tax on bonuses means his city chums are being 'super penalised’.
• Labour has set clear choices for the future that protect North West schools, the NHS and the Police.
• Drastic cuts are not the way out of the downturn - the North West's front line services must be protected.

Challenge Osborne
• At Tory Conference this year George Osborne announced his plans to get rid of the Child Tax Credit for households on more than £50,000 per year.
• He said it would raise them £400 million. However, it has now emerged that this would actually raise them only £45 million.
• To raise £400 million they would need to cut Child Tax Credit from a couple earning as little as £16,000 each - less than average earnings.
• Click on this link to write to your local newspaper and challenge the Tories for an answer


And here are some Labour acheivements -
Ten Labour achievements to be proud of:
1. 900,000 pensioners lifted out of poverty
2. 500,000 children lifted out of relative poverty and measures already in train will lift around a further 500,000 children out of poverty.
3. Free TV licences for over-75s
4. The New Deal has helped over 2 million people into work
5. Over 3 million Child Trust Funds have been started
6. Nearly 3,000 Sure Start Children’s Centres opened, reaching 2 million children and their families
7. Over 42,400 more teachers and 123,000 more teaching assistants than in 1997
8. There have been approximately 3,700 rebuilt and significantly refurbished schools; including new and improved classrooms, laboratories and kitchens.
9. A free nursery place for every 3 and 4 year old.
10. Doubled the number of registered childcare places to more than 1.5 million, one for every four children under eight years old.

Youv'e been doing a lot of pondering it would seem!