General Election: Will Cameron’s benefits cap sway voters?
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Prime Minister David Cameron has vowed to cut the maximum amount people can claim in benefits should the Conservative Party win at the General Election.
The cap currently stands at £26,000 per year and Mr Cameron has pledged to cut another £3,000 immediately after the election.
In an interview with the Telegraph, the Prime Minister claimed the move would free up funds for three million apprenticeships.
Mr Cameron described the cut as just a small part of a “deeply progressive” welfare programme that will ensure people in Britain are afforded “the chance to make the most of their God-given talents”.
The move comes shortly after a BBC/Populus poll revealed that 56 per cent of voters believe welfare, benefits and pensions to be one of the most important issues at the forthcoming election.
Just over half of those polled said that welfare reform was very important, while 89 per cent described the issue as either very of fairly important.
With benefits proving an extremely emotive issue in recent months, the move could well see the Tories eat into Labour’s narrow lead in the opinion polls.
The Populus report shows Labour with 35 per cent of the vote to the Conservative’s 34 per cent, while the latest Ashcroft report has both parties level on 32 per cent.
At present a Labour minority government (4/1) is ahead of a Tory majority (9/2) in Ladbrokes’ Post-election Government market, and with Labour likely to oppose any attempts to further cut benefits Mr Cameron’s announcement could yet prove divisive.
The announcement comes shortly after the 100-day countdown to the election which saw the bookmaker offer a variety of 100/1 politics markets.
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