Labour puts family budgets at the forefront as party’s “cost of living week” continues

With just over a week until election day, Ed Miliband is set to return to one of his key themes – the cost of living crisis. Specifically, the Labour leader will focus on family finances and tax credits, saying “if the Tories get back in on May 8^th your family budget is at risk”.

Speaking in Central London, Miliband (joined by Ed Balls and Rachel Reeves) will warn against the pace of cuts under a Tory government (planned to double their pace next year) as well as “another raid on the tax credits of millions of working families”. Labour pledged to raise tax credits by at least inflation each year when the party’s manifesto was launched a few weeks ago.

Tory plans to cut welfare by £12 billion (which they have repeatedly failed to explain the detail of) could cost recipients of tax credits nearly £4 billion. According to House of Commons Library analysis released by Labour, the Tory plans would hit millions of families currently receiving tax credits:

• Families with one child will lose tax credits when their incomes hit £23,000 a year, leaving them over £1,600 a year worse off
• Families with two children will lose tax credits when their incomes hit £29,000, leaving them over £2,000 worse off
• Families earning £12,000 or more will lose at least £550 a year

Here’s what Miliband is expected to say:

“This election is not about any one politician or any one political party. It is about you, the people because elections are when you have the power.

“This is your time, your moment, your chance to get the change your family needs.

“A chance that only comes once every five years; a chance to make a choice to put your family first; a chance to change the way our country is run so it does not put the richest and most powerful first; a chance to make Britain work for working families once again.

“We’ve heard a lot from David Cameron in the last five weeks. False promises, dangerous unfunded commitments dreamt up overnight with no idea of where the money is coming from and a plan to pay for the NHS with an IOU.

“Today I am here to reveal the truth: if the Tories get back in on May 8th your family budget is at risk. Another five years of Tory government will mean a plan to double the pace of cuts next year, a plan that puts your family budget, your NHS and our country’s future at risk.

“I ask you this: do you believe what you’ve heard from the Tories in the last five weeks, or what you’ve seen and what your family has felt in the last five years? It’s when you remember their record you realise the reality of their plan.

“It’s a record the Tories are desperate not to talk about, a record to run from not run on.

“Labour has a better plan for a better future: a plan not just for a fairer country, but a more prosperous one.

“No government led by me as Prime Minister will cut the tax credits that working people rely on, while giving tax breaks to the richest. Instead, a Labour government will raise them at least in line with inflation in every Budget.

“That is my commitment. Labour will protect family budgets, defend our schools and invest real money in the NHS.”

“A better plan. A better future. Let’s make it happen together.”