REMEMBER Jim Bowen on game show Bullseye, who when contestants failed to win Bully’s star prize were treated to the line ‘let’s look at what you could have won’? Well it is a bit like that in the House of Commons when David Miliband gets up to speak.

David had the support of MPs and members of his party, but was pipped to the post for the top job as his little brother cleaned up the votes of the trade unions.

Last week David proved yet again he is the superior politician. And while the Labour front bench peddle the fiction that the present financial challenges have nothing to do with them, he is more honest. He is wise enough to realise the people will not be fooled.

After years of living beyond our means under Labour we are determined to get our finances back on track.

The only way the Government can spend more money is by raising more in tax, increasing borrowing or cutting spending in one area to move to another.

What we need to do is get public spending under control by ensuring the Government spends only what it needs to.

We should take no more from taxpayers than we have to. Labour’s tax credits have to be one of the most cynical political exercises in history.

Labour took money from taxpayers with one hand and then gave it back to them with the other in the form of tax credits. Some families earning more than £50,000 were entitled to tax credits. H

ow ridiculous that families earning twice the national average could be entitled to means tested benefits. Is it any wonder our deficit was out of control?

The best way of supporting working families is to allow them to keep more of what they earn, that is to not tax them in the first place. It is also more honest.

That is why we are increasing the personal tax allowance to £10,000 and taking many people out of paying income tax altogether.

I would like to see us move towards increasing it further to £15,000. In my view, no-one should pay tax until they are earning a living wage.