Prime Minister vows to help families through a ‘tough and difficult year’
David Cameron has pledged to help families coping with the rising costs of living. During an interview last night on BBC's The One Show, the PM said that he understood that the cost of living is hurting people and that the Government needs to help.
In an open and frank discussion with One Show presenters, he said that “this is going to be a tough and difficult year” in which many families and businesses will have to make some kind of sacrifices. He said that it “is only right that the Government should do the same”.
Offering help to those feeling the rising costs of living, the PM said:
This year we are freezing council tax and lifting the threshold for income tax which will take around a million people out of the tax system.
You’ve seen the VAT increase and fuel price increase, and it is incredibly painful for families. I understand it is the cost of living that is hurting people now and we need to help. We’ve uprated the pension in line with earnings.
When asked why cuts in Government spending are being introduced at the scale and speed that they are, David Cameron said:
We inherited a situation where we were spending far more than we were getting in - far more than anywhere in the world. Cutting it in four years was not a viable plan so we had to make difficult decisions.
The NHS is not being cut, we decided to protect the amount of money that goes with your child into school, we are not cutting vital aid to Africa. Once we start paying down our debts and things start growing then things will get better and we can start being a stronger country again.
On spending cuts to policing, the PM said that the Government has had to make tough choices. He said that he hoped that plans announced yesterday would get more officers onto the streets.
There are only one in ten of our police officers on the street at any time - we want to cut the paperwork to get more on the streets.
During the interview the Prime Minister also talked about the situation in Libya, life at Number 10, possible changes to the Census and his relationship with his wife, Samantha.
Watch the interview: BBC iPlayer (available until 15 March 2011)