Responding to the launch of the Conservative manifesto today, Jonathan Isaby, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:
"Leaving more money in taxpayers' pockets is extremely welcome, and will be rewarded on the doorstep. However, we mustn't lose sight of the fundamental goal of bringing spending under control. The deficit is the defining issue facing this country, and election giveaways shouldn't distract us from the fact that no party has been clear enough on where they would find the necessary savings."
On the policy to hike the Personal Allowance to the level of the Minimum Wage, he continued:
"It is absolutely right that people should be able to keep more of what they earn for themselves and all parties should commit to taking the lowest paid out of paying Income Tax. However, those on the Minimum Wage will still be hit by National Insurance contributions, and politicians should be looking at bringing those thresholds into line with Income Tax to offer a tax cut to those on the lowest incomes as part of a plan to merge them into a Single Income Tax."
On the policy to guarantee 30 hours offree childcarefor the parents of 3-4 year olds, he continued:
"Expanding subsidies deal with the symptom, not the cause, of the high cost of childcare. Excessive regulation on the sector has seen the cost of childcare spiral, so there should instead be a focus on liberalising those rules."
On the policy to expand Right to Buy, he continued:
"The answer to our housing crisis is relaxing the planning restrictions that stop people from building the homes we need, and while this is exactly the kind of aspirational policy we should all welcome, it is nowhere near enough - especially when combined with other manifesto commitments to maintain the Green Belt."