Tucked away in Theresa May’s manifesto is a promise her government has already broken twice

A central Conservative Party line of attack against Labour has always been its economic incompetence. But a tucked-away Tory manifesto pledge highlights just which party is actually economically incompetent. And it doesn’t appear to be Jeremy Corbyn’s.

Broken promise number one

The Tories have now pushed back [pdf p66] eliminating the so-called ‘deficit’ to 2025. But they have been pushing back eliminating the deficit for seven years.

In October 2010, Labour’s Alan Johnson asked then Chancellor George Osborne:

will the Chancellor confirm that the aim continues to be that the deficit will be eliminated by 2015?

Osborne said:

The answer to his question is yes.

The Tories failed to do this.

Broken promise number two

So in their 2015 manifesto, they said [pdf p11]:

That is why, in the second phase of our deficit reduction plan starting in 2018-19, we are set to move into surplus, with the Government taking in more than it is spending for the first time in 18 years.

But now, Theresa May’s party has pushed this date back again. In the Conservatives’ current manifesto, it says [pdf p66]:

we will continue to aim for a balanced budget by the middle of the next decade…

Broken finances

The budget deficit is the amount a government has to borrow to meet the difference between how much it gets in tax and how much it spends. The deficit has always been a central issue for both the Conservative and Labour parties. The Tories claim to have more than halved the deficit as a percentage of GDP. But in reality, they have only done this by increasing public debt by more than 50% – to over £1.6tn.

Broken Britain?

A central slogan of May’s campaign is that Labour would cause “‘economic chaos” for the UK. But in reality, it’s the Tories who have done this. National debt has spiralled out of control, personal debt is at its highest levels ever, and all the while, public services are being decimated. So with the economy, you certainly can’t trust the Tories.

Get Involved!

– Register to vote in the 8 June general election.

– Discuss the key policy issues with family members, colleagues and neighbours. And organise! Join (and participate in the activities of) a union, an activist group, and/or a political party.

– Also read more Canary articles on the 2017 general election.

Featured image via Flickr