Pre-Budget Report

Again, one of my hon. Friends has made a valid and important point. That Tory manifesto was soft soap. The Tory reality was hard-faced. The Tories' real policies were not in their manifesto, but they were being advocated by think-tanks and pressure groups, and they were then put into practice when the Tories came to power. I believe that they are trying the same trick again. The Tory leadership present their party as reformed and rehabilitated, but it cannot be trusted. To find out what the Tories really intend, we need look no further than what the Tory think-tanks and supporters' groups are saying. That way, we find out what the real Tory policies are. The TaxPayers' Alliance—a real Tory outfit if ever there was one—and the Institute of Directors are jointly advocating all sorts of slashing attacks on services that make life decent for millions of our fellow citizens. They are threatening the elderly with a freeze on the basic state pension and the income guarantee, the withdrawal of free bus passes, and the abolition of free television licences. They are threatening children and young people and their parents with the abolition of Sure Start, the ending of the education maintenance allowance, the abolition of child benefit and the child trust fund, and the ending of the interest subsidy on student loans. They are even threatening a 25 per cent. cut in spending on the arts and theatre. Furthermore, they are threatening people in the impoverished third world with reductions in aid.