Ed Balls to freeze child benefit and dock ministerial pay

Ed Balls, so used to dodging elephant traps laid by George Osborne, is going to lay a few of his own tomorrow when he gives his speech to the Labour conference. The Shadow Chancellor, in an attempt to do something about Labour’s poll weakness on the economy, will announce that he would freeze child benefit and cut ministers’ pay by five per cent until Labour has balanced the books.

He will say:

‘We will have to make other decisions which I know will not be popular with everyone… I want to see child benefit rising in line with inflation in the next parliament, but we will not spend money we cannot afford. So for the first two years of the next parliament, we will cap the rid in child benefit at one per cent. It will save £400 million in the next Parliament. And the savings will go towards reducing the deficit.