More than five million working households will have their tax credits and child benefit payments cut for two years under the Conservatives’ plan to “finish the job” of clearing the deficit.
George Osborne laid out the economic pain ahead yesterday as he staked Tory hopes of winning the next election on voters accepting his prescription for austerity.
The chancellor balanced a two-year freeze on benefits — which amounts to a real-terms cut — with the promise of more than £1 billion in new revenue from a clampdown on tax avoidance. The measures, aimed in part at technology giants such as Google, give David Cameron room to sweeten the pill tomorrow in his conference address.
While Mr Cameron is set to use his own speech to