Election Briefing Notes 7, 8 and 9 analyse the precise distributional impacts of the parties' proposals. This Election Briefing Note looks at whether we can see a difference between the parties in their approach to taxes and benefits and the treatment of the unemployed, and how their proposals relate to what we have seen during the first term of a Labour government.
Labour was elected with few specific ideas about welfare. Tax credits did not feature in its 1997 manifesto, and there seemed to be early tensions within government, particularly on the balance between "old Labour" insurance based, universal policies and the "new Labour" policy of "targeted support for those that need it most", as Frank Field's departure showed. But after four years of reforms, it is easier to discern consistent trends in welfare policy. This Election Briefing Note looks at some important principles about the way parties are approaching the tax and benefit system. In particular, it looks at:
* the generosity of government transfers;
* the use of means testing, and tax and benefit integration;
* family - rather than individual - assessment of taxes and benefits;
* policies for managing workless benefit claimants
