Family security a Budget priority, says PM

Prime Minister David Cameron meets pupils during a visit to the Green School For Girls in west London. Picture: PA

His comment came as Liberal Democrats warned Chancellor George Osborne it would be “completely wrong” for him to try to use “giveaway” tax cuts and spending promises in the 18 March statement to win votes for Tories in the upcoming general election.

Nick Clegg insisted that any giveaways must focus on cutting tax for lower earners – such as a further cut in the personal allowance threshold for paying income tax.

And Lib Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “We can’t have a big giveaway Budget. Nobody would believe it was credible. We know that there are continuing budget problems and that therefore we have to be restrained in what we do.

“Certainly my side of the coalition will be arguing for a modest Budget. It may well have some pleasant surprises in it, but it would be completely wrong under current circumstances to have big tax cuts or big spending commitments.”

However, Mr Cameron said: “Next week’s Budget is going to be built on the basis of security. It’s going to be designed around and centred on Britain’s families.

“For the mum who’s up and out the door before six o’clock, the dad who gets home from work when everyone else has gone to sleep, the children who are hoping for a holiday at the end of the year – we want families like this to feel secure.”

Mr Cameron said that his motto in life was “family first” and this would be reflected in Mr Osborne’s Budget, with measures to deliver the healthy economy which will allow families to plan with confidence.

“My motto in life is “family first,” said the Prime Minister. “I apply it to my own life and to my politics. At their best, families are resilient – tight-knit units which can weather anything. And if you doubt it, just think of what your family has gone through over the years and how you’ve come through it together.

“But at the same time families are vulnerable – vulnerable to shocks, vulnerable to financial pressure. Job losses or money worries can tear them apart.

“I believe financial security for families is one of government’s foremost duties. It’s what I’m in politics to deliver – a better life for you and your children.”

Tory plans to deliver full employment, lower tax, help for savers, new free schools, starter homes and apprenticeships would deliver “real security for families at every stage of their lives”, said Mr Cameron.

And he added: “That’s what will help them to get on in life. That’s what next week’s Budget is all about.”