Labour
Pledges to cut the deficit in half by 2014 through economic growth, fair taxes and cuts to spending in lower priority areas.
On introducing more regulation:
- Realise our stakes in publicly controlled banks to secure the best deal for the taxpayer, introduce a new global levy, and reform the rules for banking to ensure no repeat of past irresponsibility.
On growth and a high-tech economy for Britain:
- Create UK Finance for Growth, bringing £4 billion together to provide capital for growing businesses, investing in the growth sectors of the future.
- Build a high-tech economy, supporting business and industry to create one million more skilled jobs and modernising our infrastructure with High Speed Rail, a Green Investment Bank and broadband access for all.
On increasing jobs:
- 200,000 jobs through the Future Jobs Fund, with a job or training place for young people who are out of work for six months, but benefits cut at ten months if they refuse to take part; and anyone unemployed for more than two years guaranteed work, but no option of life on benefits.
- A National Minimum Wage rising at least in line with average earnings, and a new £40-a-week Better Off in Work guarantee.
- More advanced apprenticeships and Skills Accounts for workers to upgrade their skills.
Conservative
Pledges to cut a net £6bn from departmental spending in 2010/11.
On creating stability and balance:
- Our fiscal policy will seek to help keep interest rates lower for longer. The independent Bank of England will continue to target 2 per cent Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation, and will use its new role in prudential supervision to preserve financial stability.
- We will create the conditions for higher exports, business investment and saving as a share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
On regulation:
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- We will reform the regulation and structure of the banking system to ensure lower levels of leverage, less dependence on unstable wholesale funding, and greater availability of credit for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
On a green economy:
- We will reduce UK greenhouse gas emissions and increase our share of global markets for low carbon technologies.
Liberal Democrat
Assumes that economy will be stable enough to bear cuts beginning in 2011/12.
On reducing bureaucracy:
- Setting a £400 pay rise cap for all public sector workers, initially for two years, ensuring that the lowest paid are eligible for the biggest
percentage rise.
On tax credits and income:
- Restricting tax credits.
- Ending the rollercoaster of tax credit overpayments by fixing payments for six months at a time. We will also target payments towards those who need them most.
- Increasing the income tax threshold to £10,000
On pension reform:
- Reforming public sector pensions to ensure that they are sustainable and affordable for the long term, with an independent review to agreea settlement that is fair for all taxpayers as well as for public servants.
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