"Nothing will remain intact": There's a cheering thought!

The country has accepted that there would have been cuts regardless of which party was elected.

Many people are happy that government will become smaller, and Tories in particular have been rejoicing that the size of the state, which no one would deny has grown hugely over the last 13 years, is to be cut drastically.

By the same token no one is dreadfully happy when the cuts affect them.

I’ve heard pensioners complaining about the tax they pay for all wasted services for “these young people”, or the “unemployed”, and who have welcomed the cuts with open arms, point out that of course they mustn’t cut anything for them.

Yesterday I heard a Tory activist at the conference say that whist she was all for the cutting agenda of Mr Cameron’s government, she was very angry at the cuts in child benefit because she had just had her first baby. She seemed totally oblivious to how utterly selfish that made her sound. “Cut everything but me”.

Today’s carry on, for I can’t think of much else to call it, has been an unedifying spectacle. Upset by the reaction of middle England, as represented by the Daily Mail, it seems to have been a mad scramble to recoup lost ground with the core support.

First of all it was announced that there is to be a married couples allowance brought in before the next election, but Tory ministers knew nothing about it, much less their Liberal colleagues (indicating that it had been dreamed up overnight by the damage limitation team). Then we have had Dave doing a series of television interviews to tell us that he is sorry; he really should have said before the election that he was going to cut Child Benefit, whereas, in fact, the tv stations easily found the clip of George telling conference last year that it would NOT happen.

Confusion abounds as no one is sure how much this married couples allowance is, with various people saying that it will be as little as £150 per annum and others saying it will be much more; and now it seems that the reduction in Child Benefit will affect more people than previously thought because of coming changes in tax thresholds.

Now (according to the Times) a senior Cabinet Minister talking about universal benefits has said that nothing will remain intact. So there are pensioners all over the country worrying about free tv licences; or whether the winter fuel payments of £250, (or £400 for over 80s) will be abolished, or cut, or means tested.

Additionally, it has been pointed out that, if these cuts are being made to assure the international money markets that Britain means business and the economy is in safe hands, then today’s confusion, back pedalling and policy making by the Daily Mail, will have done the AAA rating no earthly good!

If they know what cuts are to be made it’s time we were put out of our misery and told about them.

And it’s time the government got a grip. They are running around like headless chickens more reminiscent of a government which has been in power for 10 years and has run out of talent than one which is fresh off the opposition benches.