General Election debate: 10 questions we hope they answer – rather than constantly slagging each other off
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Version 0 of 1. It is the TV show that is expected to draw the most viewers of all the hundreds of General Election programmes so it would be the ideal place for our political leaders to stop attacking each other and start giving voters some of the many unanswered questions of their plans. David Cameron, Ed Miliband and finally Nick Clegg will face an audience and David Dimbleby in a Question Time format. Here are the most important questions each of the three leaders have failed to address so far: 1. David Cameron: How are you going to pay for your pledge to deliver £7 million of tax cuts? He has yet to explain how the Conservatives will pay for their promise to raise the basic rate income tax threshold from £10,600 to £12,500 and the 40p rate from £42,385 to £50,000 by the end of the decade. 2. Ed Miliband: Why won’t you set a definite date for balancing the books? “As soon as possible” is not a credible answer when you’ve billed yourself as the party of “fiscal responsibility”. This was the academic phrase Labour chose to put on the front page of its manifesto, attempting to tackle one of its biggest weaknesses head on. But Miliband has refused to set a firm date for eliminating the deficit, instead giving the vague answer of “as soon as possible,” leaving voters in the dark over the scale of spending cuts needed under a Labour government. 3. David Cameron: Will you maintain defence spending at the 2 per cent of GDP target you signed up to at the Nato summit? 4. Ed Miliband: What would you give to the SNP in return for Nicola Sturgeon’s MPs backing a minority Labour government’s Queen Speech? 5. David Cameron: Would you rule out a coalition with Ukip? If not, what would be the conditions of forming a coalition with Nigel Farage’s party? Would you be willing to bow to his demand for an early referendum on the EU by the end of this year? Are you undecided about who to vote for on 7 May? Are you confused about what the parties stand for and what they are offering? Take this interactive quiz to help you decide who to vote for... Click here to launch 6. David Cameron: How would you pay for your promised £8 billion increase in NHS funding? The Tories have yet to spell out how they would pay for this, other than relying on strong economic growth to bump up its tax revenue. 7. Nick Clegg: Will you drop your opposition to holding an EU referendum in coalition negotiations with the Conservatives? 8. David Cameron: You have only set out how you intend to find a quarter of the £12 billion of welfare cuts. Where is the remaining £8 billion coming from? A leaked memo by Lib Dem chief secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander revealed proposals to find efficiency savings by cutting child benefits. Senior Tories have dismissed this is among their plans. The Prime Minister has refused to rule out cutting tax credits. 9. Ed Miliband: You have pledged to protect the health, education and overseas aid budgets but have not spelled out which departments will be hit. 10. Nick Clegg: Will you block Ed Miliband’s pledge to cut tuition fees to £6,000? |