George Osborne rejects Lib Dem 'child benefit cut' claim

 

George Osborne has rejected claims by Lib Dem Danny Alexander that the Tories proposed to cut child benefit while they were in government together.

Mr Alexander, effectively Mr Osborne's deputy in coalition, said he was "lifting the lid" on Tory plans which included limiting child benefit and tax credits to two children.
He claimed his party blocked the move, which he said was worth £8bn.
But Mr Osborne said the claims were three years old, and never policy.
He also said there would be "no cuts to child benefit" if the Conservatives won the election: "What we instead have proposed is that working age benefits are frozen for the next two years. We think that's a more equitable, fairer way of making sure we contain the costs of our welfare system."


In other election news, with a week to go before polling day:

• David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg are preparing for the BBC's Question Time Election Leaders Special, where they will face questions separately from a studio audience
• In separate programmes, the UKIP, Plaid Cymru and SNP leaders will also take questions
• The Scottish Sun has endorsed the SNP - while the London-based edition backed the Conservatives
• Ed Miliband will claim Labour activists have held four million "doorstep conversations" with voters so far in the campaign
• David Cameron will say his party would lift 500,000 young people out of tax with its pledge to raise the personal allowance

Mr Alexander, who held the post of Chief Secretary to the Treasury in the last government, leaked the document which he claims details the Conservatives' plans to cut the welfare budget.
The Tories have said they will cut the welfare bill by £12bn if they win the next election, but the party has not explicitly set out where the cuts will come from.
Speaking to BBC London Mr Osborne said the document Mr Alexander was using to substantiate his accusations was "commissioned by the chief secretary himself" - however a Lib Dem source speaking to the BBC disputes this, and claims that it was in fact commissioned by the prime minister.