Labour has warned that maternity and paternity rights are to be abolished by Chancellor George Osborne in the Budget, a charge denied by the Conservatives.
During a House of Commons debate, shadow chancellor Ed Balls claimed he had a copy of the Treasury’s “long-delayed” growth strategy but that there was nothing in it worth leaking to newspapers.
Mr Balls added: “Can I ask the Chancellor, has this document been audited by the OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility)? Is he really clear that getting rid of maternity and paternity rights, (that) enterprise zones is going to boost jobs and growth in our economy?
“I have got his document and it has got in here all the spending commitments he has been making. If he can’t control his own frontbench, how on earth is he going to control the nation’s finances?”
However, Mr Osborne (pictured) claimed that there were no plans to get rid of maternity and paternity rights.
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