Was George Osborne rushed into announcing child benefit cuts?
A number of prominent members of the Conservative party have today stepped forward to suggest that George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, may well have been rushed into announcing changes in child benefit payments. It is believed that excessive media and press comment regarding the issue forced George Osborne to bring forward the announcement and indeed a number of Cabinet ministers would appear not to have been consulted.
On the surface it would appear that the Conservative party could well be preparing the ground for a backtrack on child benefit reductions amid claims that single-parent families have been targeted unfairly. Whether or not George Osborne was rushed into announcing his child benefit changes is a matter for debate but the fact is that this has become a major issue across the UK and opposition political parties are making full use of this "error".
There have for some time been claims that David Cameron has a very small circle of trusted ministers and those goes out with the circle tend not to be consulted on major issues. Whether this is the case and not remains to be seen but this is perhaps the first sign of cracks in the Conservative party and the coalition government.
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