Nick Clegg marked 100 days of coalition government today with an attempt to shift the political agenda beyond the negative issue of public service cuts and onto more positive territory such as tackling social mobility. At a speech in London he said: "Our critics characterise us as being solely defined by our public spending cuts. So let me be clear: tackling the deficit is our immediate priority. But is it not our be-all and end-all. This government is about much more than cuts. This government is committed to the long term – to making decisions today that will promote a better future: a more prosperous economy, and a fairer society. Our determination to fix the deficit is matched by our determination to create a more socially mobile society."
I wonder if one day that you say that you care
But in an indication that some Liberal Democrats are unhappy with the direction the government is taking, the party's deputy leader, Simon Hughes, demanded a veto for the party's backbench MPs over coalition policies. In language that is unlikely to be welcomed by his enforced bedfellows in the Conservative party, Hughes said: "The idea of a centre left, of a progressive liberal Britain, is still very much for me what I am here to achieve. Who knows, there may be a coalition with a Labour party if they are progressive at the next election, after the next election or sometime in the future. It's on the agenda."
Meanwhile Clegg refused to comment on reports that the winter fuel allowance and child benefit could be cut. Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, is attempting to slash up to £13bn from the welfare budget to pay for radical changes to the system. The Times and the Daily Telegraph reported today that the winter fuel payment could be reduced by up to £100. The scheme costs £2.7bn: anyone over 60 is eligible to claim £250 per household. Anyone over 80 can claim £400 per household.
Some £4.3bn a year goes on child benefit, which is paid at the rate of £20.30 a week for the first child and £13.40 for subsequent children. Clegg told the Today programme: "It's the middle of August. This is not going to be announced until October. And final decisions will only be taken much nearer the time. I think it actually increases anxieties in having this constant running commentary on decisions that haven't been taken or might not be taken at all."
