Tories would balance out new regulation
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Conservative election manifesto
The Conservatives are pledging to ease the burden of regulation by forcing any government body to balance the introduction of new rules by reducing existing regulation.
The Tory manifesto says a Conservative Government would scrap the FSA and set up a consumer protection agency to oversee conduct of business regulation.
Lansons director of regulatory consulting Richard Hobbs says it is difficult to know if the Tories would apply the regulation balancing rule to the CPA. He says: “There has to be a red-tape czar who goes around challenging existing regulation but it has to be an intelligent process. It is not a car park, it should not be a one-in, one-out method.”
The Conservatives say they would restore the link between the basic state pension and average earnings but have not given details about when they would make the change.
Labour says it would restore the link by 2012.
The manifesto also promises to end the “effective obligation” to buy an annuity at age 75 and supports pension auto-enrolment.
Under a Tory Government, the National Insurance primary threshold would rise by £24 a week, the upper earnings limit would increase by £29 a week and the secondary threshold at which employers start paying NI would rise by £21 a week.
The effect would partially reduce the Government’s planned 1 per cent rise in NI from next April.
The inheritance tax threshold would be raised to £1m, paid for by a flat-rate levy on all non-domiciliaries.
The stamp duty threshold would be raised permanently to £250,000 for first-time buyers and home information packs would be scrapped.
The manifesto gives a commitment to compensate Equitable Life policyholders through an independent payment scheme.
Cicero Consulting director Iain Anderson says: “The Conservatives have a manifesto which indicates they are keen to tackle some big questions such as public sector pensions and offering a stake in the banks. But, other than a Green Isa, the framework for wider savings policy remains to be seen under a Cameron Government.”
Conservative manifesto main points
● Eliminate bulk of the structural deficit over a Parliament, with measures to be announced in an emergency budget within 50 days of taking office
● Abolish the tripartite system, hand prudential regulation to the Bank of England and replace the FSA with a consumer protection agency to oversee conduct of business regulation
● Establish an independent Office for Budget Responsibility to oversee public finances
● Raise the primary threshold for NICs by £24 a week, raise the upper earnings’ limit by £29 a week and raise the secondary threshold for employers’ NI by £21 a week
● Restore link between the basic state pension and average earnings
● Work with employers and industry to support auto-enrolment into pensions
● End the obligation to buy an annuity at age 75
● Raise the inheritance tax threshold to £1m
● Compensate Equitable Life policyholders through an independent payment scheme
● Launch free national financial advice service, funded in full by the industry
● Cut the headline rate of corporation tax to 25p and the small companies’ rate to 20p
● Introduce regulatory budgets forcing any government body wanting to introduce a new regulation to reduce regulation elsewhere by a greater amount
● Offer a ’people’s bank bonus’ as the Government sells off its holdings in state-owned banks
● Empower the Bank of England to crack down on risky bonus arrangements within banks
● Raise the stamp duty threshold permanently to £250,000 for firsttime buyers
● Abolish home information packs
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