Labour to delay deficit reduction decision until last minute?: Media and Blog roundup – April 5th

Labour to delay deficit reduction decision until last minute?

“Labour may delay the politically critical choice on whether to match the coalition’s deficit reduction plan until months before the 2015 general election, according to party sources. The Tories are hoping to put pressure on Labour in this June’s summer spending review, covering the post-election period, to reveal how quickly Ed Miliband would tackle the deficit if elected prime minister. However, the shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, may argue the exceptional volatile state of the economy would make such an early judgment premature. Labour sources point out Tony Blair and Gordon Brown did not decide to accept the first two years of the Conservatives’ planned public spending limits until four months before Blair’s election victory, and Miliband and Balls could follow a similar timetable.” – Guardian

Osborne under fire over “cynical” link between Welfare and Philpott

“Labour accused the chancellor of overstepping the boundary of decency by implying there is a connection between welfare and the crimes committed by Philpott. A judge at Nottingham crown court yesterday gave Philpott a life sentence, for the killing of his children in a house fire, saying he should serve a minimum of 15 years in jail. Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor, in probably his strongest worded personal assault on Osborne, said: “Chancellors have to think very carefully before they comment on the issues of the day. How they do so says a lot about the character of their chancellorship. “That is why I believe George Osborne’s calculated decision to use the shocking and vile crimes of Mick Philpott to advance a political argument is the cynical act of a desperate chancellor. For the chancellor to link this wider debate to this shocking crime is nasty and divisive and demeans his office.”” – Guardian

Other highlights

• Labour lead back in double figures – YouGov
• No such thing as the British class system? That’s rich – Paul Routledge, Mirror
• Labour can’t win if it’s on Mick Philpott’s side – Philip Collins, The Times(£)