National Insurance Contributions Holiday

Lord Cormack Excerpts

Wednesday 27th March 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bates]

I thought I said in my Answer that we are committed to delivering the manifesto commitments. The noble Lord talks about manifestos, but I do not want to remind him of his party’s commitments on student debt, which did not seem to survive the election campaign. The reality is that we are significantly increasing employment: employment is at record levels and unemployment is at a historic low; more young people are in work; and the rate of youth unemployment has been halved. These are all steps in the right direction.

[Lord Cormack (Con)]

Does my noble friend agree that our manifestos—this applies to all parties—are far too long? Would it not be a very good thing if, in future, they were limited to far fewer than 54 pages? Would not four suffice?

[Lord Bates]

I am sorry to disappoint my noble friend, but page 54 was not the end of the manifesto—you had to keep reading for a little longer. However, I totally agree with his sentiments.