Both of the candidates to become prime minister after next week’s election were put on the back foot over the public’s trust in their economic plans, as the final television set piece of the election campaign saw the Tories grilled on their lack of clarity over cuts and Labour over its past record.
Prime minister David Cameron was forced to repeatedly reject claims the Conservatives would cut £8bn through measures such as cutting child benefit and tax credits, after the Liberal Democrats yesterday revealed plans allegedly blocked during coalition discussions from 2012.
Danny Alexander, the Liberal Democrat chief secretary to the Treasury, told the Guardian that the Tories had sought to achieve an £8bn cut to welfare in part through slashing child benefit, as the party launched an offensive that leaves a second coalition deal with the Tories in doubt.
Mr Cameron rejected this and asserted he had rejected the ideas at the time, though media reports this morning have focused on his refusal to give an unequivocal and explicit “guarantee” not to cut child benefit in response to an audience question.
“I don’t want to do that,” the prime minister said when asked whether he was planning to cut the payments, following the Lib Dems’ leak.
Labour party leader Ed Miliband’s most startling moment came as he once again ruled out a coalition agreement with the SNP, going much further than previously in saying that he would not do “any deal” with the party and would rather not be prime minister.
His most difficult moments came when he was accused of “lying” for refusing to accept that the previous Labour government spent too much, as he struggled to defend the past Labour record on the economy.
According to the Times, the Labour leader did not accept that Gordon Brown’s government had overspent, saying it had rebuilt schools, hospitals and Sure Start centres.
That drew an angry response from the audience of the Question Time special in Leeds. “If you can’t accept you overspent why on earth should we trust you that you won’t overspend again?” asked one member of the audience.
Another said: “This country suffered because Gordon Brown sold off the gold — how can you stand there and say you didn’t overspend? That’s absolutely ludicrous. You are frankly just lying.”
Lib Dems leader Nick Clegg was grilled over tuition fees, trust and coalition deals.
While insisting they could both win outright, the Conservative and Labour leaders gave the clearest indications to date of the terms of possible post-election deals, with Mr Cameron saying his pledge of an EU referendum in 2017 would be a “red line” in any negotiations.
An ICM poll after the programme said Mr Cameron was the victor: 44 per cent thought that he had been best on the night, with 38 per cent opting for Mr Miliband and 19 per cent for Mr Clegg.
donia.o’loughlin@ft.com
