New Party Political Broadcast focuses on the economy

Following the Queen’s speech, the Conservative has produced a Party Political Broadcast which will be broadcast tonight on BBC2 at 5.55pm, on BBC1 and ITV1 at 6.55pm, but which you can watch right now through PlayPolitical.com.

In the broadcast, David Cameron looks at the problems facing people as a result of the economic downturn and focuses on the situation of the owner of a building company in Southport and his staff.

David Cameron concludes the film by summing up what the Conservative would be doing differently on the economy, namely:

• cutting corporation and payroll taxes;
• allowing firms to delay paying their VAT bills;
• a council tax freeze; and
• tax breaks for companies who create jobs.

Comments

[GB£.com]

Look, how can we trust the Tories on this issue when they happily forget what the supported just a few weeks ago then attack the government for doing what they suggested?

October 10th: Osborne welcomes the Recapitalisation plan and says it was the right thing to do.

GB£.com notes that the plan will fail. :-)
http://tinyurl.com/65rxxh

November 11th: Cameron confirms the recap plan is the way to get money flowing through the economy again:
"It's vital that we unblock credit and get money flowing through the veins of our economy. That's why we backed the recapitalisation of our banks."

December 3rd: Osborne attacks the recap plan as a failure at getting credit flowing again.
"George, the Shadow Chancellor, said Mr. Daniels's comments showed the recapitalistaion package has failed to get credit moving again"

"Instead of Gordon Brown boasting about his [recapitalisation] plan abroad, he now needs to act at home to get credit flowing again to businesses, as we proposed."
from Conservatives.com

Come on guys, this is so dishonest.

[Norm Brainer]

Good that it doesn't mention labour and so is a positive message about the conservative plan, but bad in that it's so dull (and has horrible crossfades through black like one of the x-factor sob stories)
Yes, a duller and less exciting broadcast for serious times is good, but this goes too far and confuses dullness with seriousness (as brown does)

[Elaina Brier]

We are making 10% of our CCHQ staff redundant...Tim Montgomerie can you investigate.
If we can't run our own Party, how can we run the country???

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/dec/04/conservatives-credit-crunch

[Tim Montgomerie]

Thanks Elaina,

I wrote a less detailed story on this yesterday:

http://conservativehome.blogs.com/torydiary/2008/12/credit-crunch-h.html

[Norm Brainer]

GB£.com...Am I missing something... how is that dishonest? they thought it was the right thing to do, but it hasn't fixed the economy so more needs to be done?

... or have they said that it was the wrong thing to do and never supported it?

“Here is one of Britain’s most senior bankers saying, just as we have said, that the recapitalisation package may have rescued the banks, but it hasn’t rescued the economy.”

[Malcolm Dunn]

I thought it was quite good. But does anyone actually watch these things? I haven't seen any BARB figures for years.
Whilst all the Conservative ideas are practical and good there is a danger that they don't go far enough. I'm still quite sceptical about the ability of any government to do more than mitigate in a small way the effects of this crisis.

[GB£.com]

"GB£.com...Am I missing something... how is that dishonest? they thought it was the right thing to do, but it hasn't fixed the economy"

Do you know how much this monumental 'oops it didn't work, let's try something else' from Osborne has cost taxpayers?

I want to see the back of Brown but the country cannot afford a liability like Osborne who comes up with such massively expensive mistakes.

[The Bishop Swine]

"We are making 10% of our CCHQ staff redundant...Tim Montgomerie can you investigate."

That’s a bit cynical. When a recession comes along you can bet your boots that plenty of people who’s jobs could be safe really, will be shown the door, as many employers see a great opportunity to cut their wage bill, and boost productivity. What’s the justification for these jobs losses?

[Norm Brainer]

Do you know how much this monumental 'oops it didn't work, let's try something else' from Osborne has cost taxpayers?

Well, as he says it was some help, although not the wondermove that we were told it would be.
What would you have him do now though? just ignore the fact that it didn't do the trick because he supported it?

[Edison Smith]

I saw a different Conservative PPB on Channel 4 last night - with George Osborne.

Was I dreaming it?

[Steve]

GB£: "Do you know how much this monumental 'oops it didn't work, let's try something else' from Osborne has cost taxpayers?"

I have no idea - please, do put a figure on it for me.

[Peter Harrison]

GB£: "Do you know how much this monumental 'oops it didn't work, let's try something else' from Osborne has cost taxpayers?"

Steve - that's easy. It hasn't cost anything. Osborne isn't the Chancellor. Darling is.

[christina Speight]

This was the most uninspiring PPB I've ever seen. It would have been OK as a 5 min intro to some hasrtd-hitting "So this what we have to do to save us from the pit - - - -"

Totally without fire in its belly. Total collapse is still on the cards because everything is WRONG, and the party goes to `a vicarage tea party.

[Matt Wright]

I thought it was good. I think it was measured and genuine and touched on real human worries. There is a time and place for more forceful attacks, but this looked like it was meant to be a steady message.

[GB£.com]

"Osborne isn't the Chancellor"

Yes, and thank the stars for that when he comes up with expensive mistakes like that!

It is certainly interesting how even Cameron in his speech the other day took the credit for policies that the government has pinched, but once they blow up, the usual silent sidestep, 'we're not the government' line comes in.

It is amazing. I was out with a group of investment bankers last night, a few have lost their jobs, all have had a bad year. You would think they would be gagging to vote Tory to kick out Labour, but none of them had faith in Osborne, and none thought the Tories would win the next GE.

If you don't listen and act, you will have a long time to learn your lesson!

[ian Bennett]

The fact that we now learn that this story is a fake - the guy went bust in 2006 - not 2008

IS A MASSIVE POLITICAL OWN GOAL!

I beg CHQ - to sack immediately the imbecile who handed our opponents this nuclear weapon to attack us with....

surely amongst our own membership we can find numerous GENUINE stories of pain and hardship...

YET AGAIN we have tried to pllaigirise and FALLEN FLAT ON OUR FACES!

[BallO'Chalk]

I despair, I really do. I'm not an economist, thank God, but even I and countless others can see that G Brown has done exactly the opposite of what he should have done. He's trying to win the battle of 1929 with the benefit of hindsight. But it's 2008 and the world is very different. What he should have done is take the bottom 10-20% of earners out of the direct tax net altogether so that they could repair their personal balance sheets and then start to spend again. Reduce taxation, reduce public spending and put cash back into the pockets of citizens. Instead of which he's raised taxation and borrowed like crazy to bailout a load of badly managed banks. And all Cameron/Osbone can do is to witter on about supporting small businesses. Don't they realise that good businesses, small or large will survive a recession and lousy companies will, rightly go to the wall. They should be banging on about individuals and putting money back in their pockets. As it is they have swallowed NuLabour's statist/corporative twaddle. I'm beginning to think that Cameron is Heath mark II, in which case God help us all.