Smoke and Mirrors [2] : Conservative Main Pledges

Williton workhouse, built 1840. Lest we forget*

More generally, "smoke and mirrors" may refer to any sort of presentation by which the audience is intended to be deceived, such as an attempt to fool a prospective client into thinking that one has capabilities necessary to deliver a product in question.

Conservative's Main pledges

• Eliminate the deficit and be running a surplus by the end of the Parliament
• Wasn't this the plan last time around? I won't be holding my breath.......
• Extra £8bn above inflation for the NHS by 2020
• Considering last time Mr C proclaimed 'We are the party of the NHS' and then proceeded to undermine it, forgive me for distrusting this statement, whilst at the same time asking for a much larger investment.
• Extend Right to Buy to housing association tenants in England
• I've a lot to say on this. I could start by pointing out that many Housing Associations are furious about this as they disagree with the principle. I could point out that as these Housing Associations are not Government funded, the Conservative Government will also have to find the money from their 'fiscal plan' to pay off the discounts offered to the tenants, I presume once they have passed legislation forcing the Housing Associations to sell off their houses, that is.
• Legislate to keep people working 30 hours on minimum wage out of tax
• This is of course good news and really common sense. But what Mr C fails to point out is that is already the case although all earnings above £155 per week attract National Insurance, in this case £4.94, and maybe that could be re-examined. What would be a far better pledge would be to raise the minimum wage, surely?
• 30 hours of free childcare per week for working parents of 3&4-year-olds
• Whilst this sounds generous, there are many families where one parent opts to stay at home with their children. They too would appreciate a cash injection to help them - maybe to home educate. This could actually be a cheaper alternative
• Referendum on Britain’s EU membership
• Actually, what would be useful would be to tell us what the question on the referendum would be and what would be done with the results, i.e. supposing the question was a 'simple' in/out would the government be tied by that or would they use it as a negotiating tool for changing some of the clauses to which they are currently signed?

Mr Cameron also set out a 100 day plan for the first one hundred days of his imaginary government's office. Bit odd that when he has actually been Prime Minister for the last fiver years that he has come up with this 'all in a rush' now. More smoke and mirrors, methinks.