The Liberal Democrat party has claimed to revealed the Conservative party 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.
Danny Alexander, the Liberal Democrat chief secretary to the Treasury, handed documents to the Guardian revealing the £8bn welfare cuts will include slashing child benefits and child tax credits.
According to Mr Alexander, the idea was first mooted in 2012 had a paper by work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith, however the plan was dropped after it was successfully opposed by the Lib Dems.
The move marks continuing efforts by the Lib Dems to distance themselves from their coalition partners and to present achievements in government, as the party faces a disastrous election.
The proposals apparently blocked included limiting support to two children in child benefit and child tax credit, so cutting up to £3,500 from a family with three children; removing the higher rate child benefit from the first child, an average cut of over £360 for every family with children; and means testing child benefit, cutting £1,750 for a two child middle income family.
A further proposal was to remove child benefit from 16 to 19 year olds – a cut of over £1,000 for parents of a single child.
The Tories are under increasing pressure to reveal how they plan to cut £12bn from the welfare budget by 2017-2018. Thinktank the Institute for Fiscal Studies said this week that the Tories have only disclosed 10 per cent of these cuts via a two-year freeze in working age benefits.
Meanwhile, according to the Times, Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg will face a struggle within his own party if he pushes for a second coalition deal with the Tories.
According to the report, Mr Clegg will struggle to get the formal authorisation needed from the party’s MPs, governing bodies and two thirds of his grassroots members at a special meeting if he wants to do another deal with the Tories.
Several unnamed party figures are quoted as saying they would block a deal, or would only support one if they could have far more extensive vetoes over the policy agenda in the next parliament.
donia.o’loughlin@ft.com
