Cameron restates marriage tax break will be delivered during next Parliament

Conservative party leader David Cameron admitted this morning on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that he “messed up” on Monday when he said he only “hoped” to introduce a tax break for married couples, a key policy point that he had previously promised. Within hours of his initial “hopeful” claim, Cameron was forced to restate that it would be delivered in the next Parliament, reported The Mail.

Cameron claimed in Today’s interview that he “misdescribed” the party’s position on the tax break; later that day, he was forced to clarify his position on the policy as the Labour party highlighted a “£34 billion gap” in the Tory spending promises. Labour noted that by agreeing to tax breaks for those who are married, the Tories would be making a spending commitment of £4.9 billion a year, reported The Telegraph.

Cameron’s gaffe, however, was quickly shoved aside by the furor over attempted coup in the Labour Party. Even under the heavy cloud of his own leadership troubles, Prime Minister Gordon Brown gamely continued probing the matter on Wednesday, saying Cameron could not give a “straight answer” on his marriage tax proposal, “whether you can say ‘I do’ or ‘I don’t’ on it”, reported Sky News. Liam Byrne MP, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, told The Telegraph, “So far we’ve seen nothing in black and white on their plans for tax cuts, and they’ve still not even mentioned their long list of spending commitments.”

But The Tory leader told BBC Radio 4 this morning, “The truth is, I give dozens of interviews every week and on Monday I messed up and there is no other way of putting it. I was thinking about all sorts of different things, and I misdescribed our policy. I immediately corrected that.”

The Tory leader also promised a chapter-by-chapter publication of his party’s manifesto would enable him to update the country on revisions to its commitments and see what the Government has done with their suggestions, reported The Independent.

When asked about yesterday’s plot by two former cabinet ministers to oust Brown, Cameron said it underlined the division within the Labour party and why it was time for a general election. “If ever there was a time when our country needed strong leadership and a united government, it’s today,” he said.