Cameron changes tack on debt speech

Thursday 6th October 2011

The Prime Minister yesterday retreated from his plans to tell the public to pay off their credit card and store card bills after previews of his Conference speech were criticised.

David Cameron dropped calls to pay off debt, after members of the public protested that those in the red simply cannot afford to clear their debts.

Mr Cameron originally planned to say: “The only way out of a debt crisis is to deal with your debts. That means households – all of us – paying off the credit card and store card bills.

After the protests, the Prime Minister changed his speech to, “The only way out of a debt crisis is to deal with your debts. That’s why households are paying down their credit card and store card bills.”

According to Downing Street aides, it was never Mr Cameron’s intention to lecture the public about credit card living, but instead to highlight that the public are already paying down their debts. However, they acknowledged that the original wording was open to misrepresentation.

Furthermore, the Institute for Public Policy Research has indicated that the economy would actually shrink if everybody were to pay off their debt too quickly as it would wipe up to 15 per cent off the national income.

The Chief Executive of Money Advice Trust, Joanna Elson, also told the Mail Online that the public could find themselves in deeper financial trouble if they attempt to make repayments too quickly.

In the Prime Minister’s speech, he did address the public’s concerns, saying: “It is an anxious time. Prices and bills keep going up – petrol, electricity, the weekly shop.

“On the news it’s job losses, cutbacks, closures. You think about tuition fees, house prices, the cost of a deposit, and wonder how our children are going to manage.”