SHADOW chancellor George Osborne has insisted the Tories are ready for government, with tax breaks for married couples a key plank of their strategy for a stronger society.
Tory leader David Cameron has long supported using the tax system to uphold marriage, but it was thought Osborne was less keen on the idea.
However, the shadow chancellor said there was "no disagreement" between the two men on the issue – althou
gh he conceded they differed on other areas of policy.
He said: "Marriage will be recognised in the tax system. If I am David's Chancellor, which I fully expect to be, then I will implement that.
"There is no disagreement there at all. Of course, everyone is entitled to choose how to live their lives and some marriages do fail, but we know that in general marriage is an institution that contributes to building a stronger society.
"That is why Labour was wrong to stop supporting it through the tax system."
Details of the policy have not been finalised, nor has it been revealed how the tax cut will be funded.
Giving an insight into the workings at the top of the party as it prepares the policies it hopes will win the next election, Osborne said he and Cameron "don't always agree on everything".
He added: "But on the big fundamentals – the changes necessary to the Conservative Party, keeping the Conservative Party on the centre ground in British politics and the economic changes that we need to make – we pretty much see eye to eye."
The full article contains 263 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
