Spending Review: George Osborne U-Turn Over Tax Credits

[mikey4444]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34915218

Spectacular U-Turn from Osborne !

"The chancellor was forced to rethink plans to cut £4.4bn from tax credits for low paid workers in April after they were rejected by the House of Lords.

Rather than phasing the cuts in, as he had been expected to do, Mr Osborne said he said he had decided the "simplest thing" was "to avoid them altogether", even though it would mean missing his own target for overall welfare spending in the early years of this Parliament"

Thanks House of Lords....you do serve a useful purpose after all !

[Jackdaw33]

So Labour is sneering at him for doing what they proposed!

[naomi24]

Surely congratulations are in order? He listened.

[Hopkirk]

Be honest, Mikey, do you really wish Ed Balls was in number 11?

[ichkeria]

He had no choice. I find this whole thing rather alarming. Is Osborne so mired in his ideology that he couldn't even see that apart from anything else this measure was actually a disincentive to work?
Credit to the decent Tory MPs who would not be bribed and cajoled and stood firm for what was right.

[mikey4444]

Naomi...after his humiliating defeat in the HOL the other day, Osborne had no choice but to do a U-turn. If he had thought this out properly from day one, we wouldn't be in this position.

Working people of Britain ...1
Tories ....0

[Dogsbody2]

The working people of Britain and the Tories are broadly the same thing.

[Jackdaw33]

How pathetic! Labour are mocking him for doing what they wanted. Would you have preferred him to press on? Yet another reason why the UK is safe from the threat of a Labour government for the foreseeable future.

[Hopkirk]

I'll take that as a 'no' then.

[mikey4444]

Jack...he is doing exactly what I and millions of others wanted him to do....to admit he was wrong and do the decent thing.

But if the HOL, the Labour Party, the LibDems, etc, etc, and some brave members of his own party hadn't of raised objections in the first place, millions of ordinary working people would have been considerably worse off next year.

This is a humiliation for Osborne, and it can't be disguised as anything else.
It just goes to show how thin and vulnerable the Tories majority really is.

A victory for common sense.

It does have another repercussion of course....Osbornes starting price is considerably down, now when it comes to the new Tory Leader Stakes.
The Tories rarely countenance in competence amongst its midst....Boris and May must be rubbing their hands in glee today.

[mikey4444]

Hoppy...I will take your comment head on !

We can speculate on what Ed Balls would have done, if Labour had won in May. But what Osborne actually HAS done is a matter of fact, and history, not speculation.

So ....lets deal with what we have, rather than ponder on what might have been !

[naomi24]

Mikey, you wouldn't be in what position? The position hasn't changed. Personally I think he's wrong. He should have stuck to his guns.

//Working people of Britain ...1
Tories ....0 //

And that^ is an insult.

ichkeria, //Is Osborne so mired in his ideology that he couldn't even see that apart from anything else this measure was actually a disincentive to work? //

You have that the wrong way around. Since only 16 hours work a week is required before claiming Tax Credits, they are a disincentive to work - and I think he recognises that.

[ichkeria]

Cleverer people than me worked out that Osborne's plans were going to be a disincentive to many to do extra hours.
I guess that was what pushed him in the end, not the sensible Tories :-)

[Jackdaw33]

Oborne is just biding his time. At the next election, when the Tories win by a landslide he will have carte blanche.

[Togo]

Clever George, throws the dog a bone, and cuts welfare by £12 billion. But gets a pat on the back, and the loonies congratulating themselves. Genius.

[mikey4444]

Jack...Tories win by a landslide in 2020 ?

I can see no evidence of that, but we shall have to wait and see !

[naomi24]

ichkeria //Cleverer people than me worked out that Osborne's plans were going to be a disincentive to many to do extra hours. //

That's the point. Tax Credits encourage people to do fewer hours. Why work more than 16 hours when you can have your money topped up by the taxpayer? Without the top up, there's no option but to work a full day.

[mikey4444]

Naomi...a full day...on minimum wage !

[naomi24]

And why not?

[ichkeria]

There's probably (probably? - definitely) one thing 'George' wants more than to cut the deficit and that is to be the next Tory Leader and - so he probably rightly assumes - the next prime minister. This personal fiasco won't have helped him achieve that. So I'd suggest 'not so clever' personally