Tory rule's ugly reality

David Cameron moved to attack immigrants this week as the Tories proved they’re still the nasty party. Pushed on his immigration policies, Cameron said, “I don’t support our population going to 70 million. “The pressures, particularly on our public services, have been very great.” He went on to say that he wants to slash migration by an incredible 75 percent using a “cap” system. Yet most of the population increase is from births – and the cuts are to pay for the bank bailout, not because of population “pressures”. Cameron also made his starkest statement yet about his cuts plans this week. Asked if he wanted to make more cuts or make the cuts earlier, he replied, “It’s both, and one leads to the other. We think it should start now. We would have an emergency budget within 50 days. It would start to do some of those things.” Meanwhile, John Redwood, Cameron’s economic adviser, wants cuts too – cuts to the taxes of the rich. He said, “Tax cuts must be cuts in taxes on enterprise. Cut the higher rate of income tax, cut the corporation tax rate.”

Cameron’s airbrushed, rosy cheeks are plastered on billboards across the land, selling brand Cameron like cheap washing powder. But behind the Eton toff’s smile is the real, vicious face of the Tories. On the posters he pledges not to cut the NHS – but he’s already admitted that hospitals could be closed. And this week multi-millionaire Cameron made a major speech saying it is the “strong and secure families” that determine children’s chances in life – and that poverty has nothing to do with it. Cameron’s latest wheeze is to tackle “yobs” in schools by forcing parents to sign “behaviour contracts” saying they will discipline their kids. Cameron has also insisted that plans to hand out tax breaks for marriage will go ahead, taking money from lone parents and handing it to middle class couples. At the same time he’s planning to cut £200 million from SureStart children’s centres. What’s he going to do with the money? One of his firm policies is to raise the inheritance tax threshold to £1 million – handing cash to the children of the super-rich; this is just the tip of the Tory iceberg. The ruling class has ditched New Labour. Now it is looking to the Tories to try to make the working class pay for the economic crisis. A Conservative government would give every racist and every boss confidence to go on the offensive. But we can stop their cuts – if we fight back.