Liberal Democrat fiscal policy in a nutshell

Ahead of this evening’s debate between Alistair Darling, George Osborne and Vince Cable, you might find this little summary of the party’s fiscal policies helpful:

• The party’s proposed tax cuts (such as raising the basic rate income tax threshold to £10,000) will be paid for by tax rises elsewhere in the system (such as ending the higher rate tax relief on pension contributions)
• The party’s spending savings (such as scrapping ID cards) will be spent two-thirds on cutting the deficit and one-third on other policies (such as the pupil premium)

As to exactly how much savings will be identified, that in part awaits the manifesto. But the party has also made clear that the search for savings would continue beyond that. That’s not unreasonable given that until you’re in charge and see the full details of the books, there is only so far you can go in identifying savings.