Labour’s ‘secret plan’ attack exploits Tory silence on welfare cuts

A common technique in gothic horror novels is to avoid describing whatever monster the author is trying to scare readers with. The imagination is even more powerful than the pen, and silence on the details of the beast means those reading will concoct their own personal nightmare as they read on. This was always the risk with the Tory refusal to set out the detail of the £12 billion of welfare cuts they plan to make in the next Parliament.

Ed Miliband is trying to exploit that lack of detail today by launching a ‘dossier’ that sets out the ‘secret plan’ the Tories have on welfare cuts. In his speech this morning, the Labour leader said:

‘Today we show what another five years of Tory government would mean. A Tory secret plan. A plan that puts the prosperity of your family at risk. Cuts to tax credits. Cuts to child benefit. A threat to your family finances.