BRITAIN'S FUTURE CREDIT RATING

One of the first duties of an incoming Conservative Government will be to put the national finances back on a proper footing. Labour's disastrous handling of the country's economy has even led to questions being raised about the country's credit worthiness!

Conservatives have set out a clear benchmark to safeguard Britain’s credit rating with a credible plan to eliminate a large part of the structural deficit over a Parliament.

Firstly, we will cut the deficit quicker and start sooner than Labour and we will make a start in 2010. As the Party said in October, the pace of cuts will be decided in co-ordination with the Bank of England which is responsible for setting interest rates. The choice is clear: Conservatives will act to deal with the deficit, Labour will delay and put recovery at risk.
 
Top economists, the Bank of England, OECD, CBI, IFS, and National Institute of Economic and Social Research all agree that Labour do not have a credible plan to deal with the deficit.

Our plan involves the restraining the growth of public spending and we will reduce Labour's plans if we win the General Election. Their proposals are not sustainable.

We also need a proper strategy regarding taxes. Our first priority of all Labour's tax rises is to avoid the increase in National Insurance Contributions – a tax on everyone earning over £20,000. At the moment Conservatives have not committed to reverse Labour's planned taxes until we know we can afford it. However, all the plans the Conservatives have put forward are fully funded. For example, the cut we are proposing in inheritance tax would be paid for by a levy on non-doms.

Conservatives know that Britain's spiralling debt is not the way to build a balanced, sustainable economy for the future. That the country's credit rating is a subject of discussion in international circles is a concern in terms of being able to finance the debt while it is being brought under control. Conservative plans will reassure investors that the British Government is serious about re-balancing the national finances and setting them on a path that allows economic growth and to provide the services, like the NHS, that the public rightly values and which the Conservatives Party has put at the heart of its reforming agenda.