Balls To Freeze Child Benefit To Balance Books

Ed Balls has told his party's conference a child benefit freeze, a cut in politicians pay and higher tax for top earners will form part of Labour's plan to bring the deficit down.

The shadow chancellor presented a 1% cap on rises for the first two years of a Labour government as one of the "tough decisions" necessary to deal with the deficit if the party takes power next year.

In a speech in Manchester, Mr Balls hit out at the "unfair, out-of-touch and failing Tory government", and pledged to raise the minimum wage, and scrap the so-called bedroom tax.

New free schools would also be blocked in areas where there is an excess of pupil places, police and crime commissioners would be scrapped, and the controversial 'shares for rights' plans ditched.

Mr Balls says a cap in child benefit rises will save £400m

And Mr Balls said the party should apologise for mistakes it made when in power, including on immigration.

"We are tough enough to make the difficult decisions," he insisted.

He went on: "It's the oldest truth in the book - you can never, ever trust the Tories with the NHS.

"We don't just need to learn from our mistakes we also need to put right mistakes this government is making.

"So we won't pay for free schools in areas where there are excess school places"

"The next Labour government will scrap the bedroom tax, too.

"Scrap police and crime commissioners so that we can do more to help front line policing.

A 5% cut in ministerial salaries is also on the cards

"We won't spend money we can't afford."

Mr Balls added: "The Labour government will reduce this Tory tax cut for billionaires because we'll balance the budget in a fairer way.

"Walking away from Europe would be a disaster for British jobs…. This party will always put the national interest first.

"Ambitious, performing, doing what it takes to deliver… that's the kind of chancellor I'd like to be, too.

"I'm pro-business - but not business-as-usual.

"We have learned from our past and our mistakes."

Mr Balls added: "Three years of lost growth at the start of this parliament means we will have to deal with a deficit of £75bn - not the balanced budget George Osborne promised by 2015. And that will make the task of governing hugely difficult.

"People know we are the party of jobs, living standards and fairness for working people. But they also need to know that we will balance the books and make the sums add up and that we won't duck the difficult decisions we will face if they return us to government.

"Working people have had to balance their own books. And they are clear that the Government needs to balance its books too."

Speaking on Sky News ahead of his appearance Mr Balls said he would not "duck or flinch" from the tough decisions and he defended claims the savings provided by the measures would be miniscule.

He said the child benefit move would save £400m in the next parliament, plans to end the winter fuel allowance for rich pensioners would bring an extra £100m a year of savings and the introduction of a 50p tax rate for those earning more than £150,000 would bring in £3bn.

Under austerity measures introduced by the coalition, child benefit was frozen from 2010 to this year.

Labour also plans to cut ministerial salaries - taking £7,125 off the Prime Minister's annual wage, and £6,728 from Cabinet ministers.

Child benefit rose by 1% in April and is due to rise by the same amount in 2015/16, but Mr Balls will commit to extending below-inflation hikes for at least one more year.

The party also has plans to raise the minimum wage to £8 an hour, and introduce a jobs guarantee for young people and the long-term unemployed funded by a tax on bank bonuses and limiting pensions tax relief for the highest earners.

Treasury Exchequer Secretary Priti Patel poured scorn on Mr Balls' plan for the economy, claiming Labour would put the deficit up, not down.

"These savings on ministerial pay only cut a miniscule fraction of the deficit - less than 1% of 1%.  And it comes just days after the Institute for Fiscal Studies said Labour's economic policy means £28bn extra borrowing," she said.

The Children's Society said Labour's plans to freeze child benefit would leave the average family more than £400 a year worse off by 2017 and urged the shadow chancellor to reconsider.

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