Emma Thelwell

Three months on from the Spending Review, when the Chancellor pledged to protect Sure Start children centres (and one month since FactCheck last looked at Sure Start) – charities are warning that 250 such centres could be shut.

The claim “He is going too far and too fast with deficit reduction and that is what is inhibiting growth in this country” Ed Miliband, Labour leader, Prime Minister’s Questions, 26 January 2011

“They are clearly disappointing figures but the statisticians tell us that the weather had a huge effect – we had the coldest December for 100 years, businesses were closed, people couldn’t get to work… So we’re not going to be blown off course by the bad weather.”

The claim “Health inequalities in 21st century Britain are as wide as they were in Victorian times” Prime Minister David Cameron, speech on modern public service, January 17, 2011

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…

The claim “If you look at the effect (of VAT) as compared with people’s income then, yes, it is regressive” Prime Minister David Cameron, PM Direct, 5th January, 2011 Cathy Newman checks it out It would appear the Prime Minister spent last night reading FactCheck – which yesterday looked into his Chancellor’s claim that VAT…

“If you look at the population and how much they spend, then VAT is progressive…Income tax and National Insurance would have a more damaging impact on poorer people in our society and it’s worth remembering that in the Budget I took substantial means to reduce the NI burden” Chancellor George Osborne MP, BBC Radio 4’s Today programme January 4, 2011

The claim “We are not abolishing EMAs – we are replacing EMAs with something more effective.” David Cameron MP, Prime Minister’s Questions, December 15 2010

The claim “My understanding is that the 15 per cent figure – that was quoted by the Shadow Home Secretary – is wrong, and that it is an interpretation of the House of Commons library figures rather than the House of Commons library figure.” Home Secretary Theresa May MP, Select Committee, December 14, 2010