Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg would seek to push through tax cuts to help ordinary working households through the economic downturn were he in government, he said yesterday.In an interview with the Evening Standard newspaper the 41-year-old said the "political terms of trade have changed" thanks to the economic climate, raising the possibility of an economic shift to the right from Britain's centrist party. "We've got a recession looming, at a time when British families are tightening their belts, government should tighten its belt too," he said. "As much of that money that we claw back from government, once we've met our spending priorities, should be given back in tax cuts - and tax cuts crucially from the bottom up." Mr Clegg heads to Bournemouth tomorrow for his first autumn conference as party leader. Last year he was one of the "young Turks" famously snapping at the heels of predecessor Sir Menzies Campbell but 12 months on he faces the pressures of leadership himself. Mr Clegg has struggled to raise his party's standings in the opinion polls and has been criticised for poor performances at prime minister's questions. He added: "I'm in an unusual position in the sense that unlike David Cameron and Gordon Brown, I have only two questions, Cameron has got six, and he has got a nice prop (the dispatch box) which he can lean on." This year's conference is expected to be dominated by talk of Lib Dem tax cuts. The party hopes to introduce these after identifying around ВЈ20 billion of savings which will then be redistributed to Lib Dem spending priorities. Any remaining savings would then be passed on to the taxpayer.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Clegg seeking tax cuts before conference
Nick Clegg seeks tax cuts before autumn conference
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg would seek to push through tax cuts to help ordinary working households through the economic downturn were he in government, he said yesterday.In an interview with the Evening Standard newspaper the 41-year-old said the "political terms of trade have changed" thanks to the economic climate, raising the possibility of an economic shift to the right from Britain's centrist party. "We've got a recession looming, at a time when British families are tightening their belts, government should tighten its belt too," he said. "As much of that money that we claw back from government, once we've met our spending priorities, should be given back in tax cuts - and tax cuts crucially from the bottom up." Mr Clegg heads to Bournemouth tomorrow for his first autumn conference as party leader. Last year he was one of the "young Turks" famously snapping at the heels of predecessor Sir Menzies Campbell but 12 months on he faces the pressures of leadership himself. Mr Clegg has struggled to raise his party's standings in the opinion polls and has been criticised for poor performances at prime minister's questions. He added: "I'm in an unusual position in the sense that unlike David Cameron and Gordon Brown, I have only two questions, Cameron has got six, and he has got a nice prop (the dispatch box) which he can lean on." This year's conference is expected to be dominated by talk of Lib Dem tax cuts. The party hopes to introduce these after identifying around ВЈ20 billion of savings which will then be redistributed to Lib Dem spending priorities. Any remaining savings would then be passed on to the taxpayer.
Lib Dems eye 20bn in efficiency savings Who’s Afraid of a Feverish Economy?
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg would seek to push through tax cuts to help ordinary working households through the economic downturn were he in government, he said yesterday.In an interview with the Evening Standard newspaper the 41-year-old said the "political terms of trade have changed" thanks to the economic climate, raising the possibility of an economic shift to the right from Britain's centrist party. "We've got a recession looming, at a time when British families are tightening their belts, government should tighten its belt too," he said. "As much of that money that we claw back from government, once we've met our spending priorities, should be given back in tax cuts - and tax cuts crucially from the bottom up." Mr Clegg heads to Bournemouth tomorrow for his first autumn conference as party leader. Last year he was one of the "young Turks" famously snapping at the heels of predecessor Sir Menzies Campbell but 12 months on he faces the pressures of leadership himself. Mr Clegg has struggled to raise his party's standings in the opinion polls and has been criticised for poor performances at prime minister's questions. He added: "I'm in an unusual position in the sense that unlike David Cameron and Gordon Brown, I have only two questions, Cameron has got six, and he has got a nice prop (the dispatch box) which he can lean on." This year's conference is expected to be dominated by talk of Lib Dem tax cuts. The party hopes to introduce these after identifying around ВЈ20 billion of savings which will then be redistributed to Lib Dem spending priorities. Any remaining savings would then be passed on to the taxpayer.
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