Tories publish unfunded £12bn "Social Policy Wishlist"

7.56.16pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 10th Jul 2007

Ian Duncan Smith chaired the policy review

The Conservatives have today published the report of their social justice policy group, chaired by former leader Iain Duncan Smith. The proposals include tax breaks for some married couples, trebling child benefit for the first three years and increasing funding for disadvantaged children.

Initial estimates by the Liberal Democrats have put the cost of the proposals at around £12 billion a year. Yet the only revenue raising proposal in the paper is increasing taxation on alcohol, which would raise only around £400 million. The policy group was established by Conservative leader David Cameron to advise on policy options, but its recommendations are not binding on the party.

The Conservative policies to tackle poverty and inequality amount to little more than a long wishlist of uncosted and unfunded benefit proposals, while at the same time they have avoided all difficult questions of social reform by either resorting to outdated views of society and policies fit for the 19th century or further policy reviews.

The Liberal Democrats will shortly be publishing a poverty and opportunity policy paper, which will be debated at the party's September conference.