Economy

“Too far and too fast” is the Labour mantra on Coalition cuts. But is the Chancellor to blame for the bad news on Britain’s flatlining economy.

Half a million people ‘on the sick’ are really fit to work, the Government estimates. But how realistic are the claims behind the benefits shake-up?

Ten months after they formed the Coalition, the Liberal Democrats list their big achievements. FactCheck takes them to task.

The claim “I do think there’s a very attractive idea of saying that as oil prices rise and as the Treasury potentially benefits from some revenue from those oil price rises… is there a way of sharing the pain of increased petrol prices between the motorist on the one hand and the Treasury on the…

The claim “The bank bonus tax raised net £2.3bn…the bank levy will raise £2.5bn each year when it is fully up and running. And with the magic of addition if you have a bank levy every year – which we supported, he opposed – we will raise £9bn compared with his £2.3bn. Even the Shadow…

The claim “…the deficit is…not high by either historical or contemporary standards” Len McCluskey elected head of Unite, The Guardian, December 19, 2010. “Of course there’s a deficit – we’re not deficit deniers.… the figures you’ve got are clearly not the figures that I’ve got” Len McCluskey, Radio 4’s Today programme, January 11, 2011. The…

The claim “My concern is that a great deceit designed to damage Labour has led to profoundly misguided and dangerous economic decisions that I fear will cause deep damage to Britain’s future. What is this deceit? It is that the deficit was caused by chronic overspending rather than a global financial crisis that resulted in…

CutsCheck analyses whether police cuts announced this week by the Home Office are worse than individual force had been expecting.

FactCheck analyses Shadow Chancellor Alan Johnson’s claim that Labour “paid down debt” and controlled borrowing.

FactCheck analyses the Government’s decision to exclude “intra-company transfers” from its annual migration cap.

FactCheck analyses the British/French defence treaties.

FactCheck analyses a claim from the Prime Minister and Treasury Chief Secretary that Labour MEPs voted for a 6% rise in the EU budget.

FactCheck analyses Chancellor George Osborne’s claim that measures in the spending review will not increase child poverty

FactCheck analyses the Defence Secretary Liam Fox’s claim that the Coalition Government has inherited a £38bn “black hole” from the Labour administration.

FactCheck analyses a letter to the Daily Telegraph, signed by 35 senior businessmen, that says “the private sector should be more than capable of generating additional jobs to replace those lost in the public sector”.