Has there ever been a more dishonest pledge from a politician? Ed Miliband ‘getting tough’ on zero hours contracts – whilst Labour Councils issue 22,000 of them and 68 Labour MPs have used them for their own staff in the last two years.
Here’s the truth on zero hours contracts. They account for just one in 50 jobs in the economy. Many of them suit people seeking flexible hours – full time parents, students and some niche roles, such as ‘bank nurses’ who can be used to cover temporary staff shortages.
Labour lost the argument on the economy, which grew by 2.8% last year - the fastest of any advanced economy in the world, including the US. They said Conservatives would destroy 1 million jobs, but 2 million have been created, with five new jobs in the private sector for every public sector redundancy.
Labour lost the argument on the cost of living – disposable income is higher now than it was in 2010. Wages are growing well in excess of inflation.
So they go back to their comfort zone - hating on businesses and pretending that the recovery is not happening. The saddest thing is that Labour seem to actually want to believe that misery is sweeping the UK, as they think this will help them to get back into power.
Conservatives have abolished income tax for 3 million of the lowest paid workers and added £800 to the basic state pension. How did we end up in a situation where Labour is arguing against these policies?