I’m writing this from the Conservative party conference, where my enthusiasm for the coalition has been dampened by the child benefit cut. As a father of four, I’ll be £3,100 a year worse off. That came as a bit of a blow, particularly as I’d just shelled out £650 for a security pass and £160 to connect to the internet inside the conference centre. It would have been cheaper to fly the kids to Disneyland.
Talking to seasoned hacks at The Spectator’s jamboree on Monday night, the conclusion was that it was intended to inflict a bit of misery on the middle classes before the announcement of the spending review. That way, the government can argue that the cuts will be ‘fair’ since people like me will be sharing the pain.
This sort of political stunt is characteristic of the government, but it’s hard to work out who the Prime Minister and his Chancellor are trying to impress.
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