Clegg: Now is the time for Government to look after families

As the credit crunch starts to hit the real economy, Gordon Brown must turn his attention to the many families being hit hardest by the crisis, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg said yesterday.

Publishing his Family Assistance Package, set out last week with his Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable, Nick Clegg called for an immediate cut in interest rates and also other measures to ease the burden on households, including:

• Tax cuts for people on low and middle incomes
• Action to help people pay rising energy bills
• The creation of a trusted nationwide financial advice service

Nick Clegg said:

"The best way to help families through the tough times ahead is to give them more of their own money back.

"This winter will see more jobs lost, more homes repossessed and many people struggling to pay cripplingly high energy bills.

"The Government wants to spend its way out of this crisis without learning from any of its mistakes, while the Tories seem content to fiddle around the edges of business taxation.

"Only the Liberal Democrats are focusing on directly helping families through this recession."