Fighting talk

George Osborne today, in an interview with the Sun newspaper, reveals that immediately he is in office he will review the proposed increase in national insurance on all earning more than £19,000 a year. Reversal of this will be a number one priority.

The half percent increase seems little as such, but someone earning £26,123 (- a nurse in his example) will have to pay £207 a year more in tax.

He also promised to rein in salaries paid "public servant fat cats", who, with a few exceptions will not be allowed to earn more than the Prime Minister, - currently £190,000. The estimate is that this will affect 68 heads of government bodies and 23 NHS managers.

The sun gives examples of current pay received by the 5 best paid quango executives, - Ofcom at £417,581 being the highest and the lowest being the Learning and Skills Council at £284,000. So the reductions would vary from £227,000 to £94,000.

The savings in total would be roughly £650,000, and there would be smaller saving in the cases of the other 86 executives. The overall total could be approaching £1 million.

(This is oversimplified- the chief executives are on contracts, and there would be a need to "buy out" the remainder, which could be protracted, before they or others could be appointed at lower salaries.) There is the other question that some of the quangos are on many "lists and never would be missed", which could could save many millions, but Osborne did not mention these.