Faisal Islam
The economic dividing lines between the parties
Faisal Islam blogs on the stance of Labour, Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats to cutting the UK’s £167bn national debt.
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Defence review: the £38bn question
FactCheck analyses the Defence Secretary Liam Fox’s claim that the Coalition Government has inherited a £38bn “black hole” from the Labour administration.
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CutsCheck: who cares about social care?
CutsCheck looks at what cuts to local authority budgets are likely to mean for social care for older people
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Lib Dems on banking: the crisis, the cost & the economy
The Liberal Democrat turned to banking in this morning’s briefing and FactCheck turned to some of their statements.
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Lib Dem Manifesto 2010: planes, poverty & footballs
The Liberal Democrats could be the deciding party in the next election. Their manifesto gets the FactCheck treatment.
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Faisal Islam
A public service slasher or a deficit weakling?
“It’s April Fool’s Day,” is what I muttered to myself, when looking at the line of attack from Darling, Mandelson and Byrne in their extensive 180-page dossier on the “Conservative credibility gap”. Yes it outlines a £22bn gap from the Conservatives on tax and spending pledges, but that suggests that the Labour frontbench think that…
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Will savings of £11bn reduce deficit?
Alistair Darling claimed government departments will make £11bn of efficiences which will go towards reducing borrowing in his 2010 Budget statement. FactCheck puts it to the test.
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Jon Snow
Hats off for Luton!
What the £178bn deficit looks like from the ground – Jon Snow visits Luton and finds a town of contrasts, from gin and tonics on the bowling green to some of the most dispossessed housing estates imaginable.
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Faisal Islam
The ‘better-the-devil-you-know’ budget
This is the big dilemma that will decide the election. Spend the shock £5- £10bn undershoot on the deficit, or bank it and pay down the national debt. Darling would spend it all, and Osborne would save it all, right? Wrong. The day that February public borrowing was shown to have reached a record seems…