This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk_politics/8515798.stm
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Tory error over teen pregnancies | Tory error over teen pregnancies |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| The Tories have been attacked as "out of touch" for wrongly claiming more than half of girls in the most deprived areas get pregnant before they turn 18. | The Tories have been attacked as "out of touch" for wrongly claiming more than half of girls in the most deprived areas get pregnant before they turn 18. |
| The party said the conception rate for this age group in the 10 most disadvantaged areas of England was 54%, while the real figure was 5.4%. | |
| Labour accused the Conservatives of using "smears and distortions". | Labour accused the Conservatives of using "smears and distortions". |
| But the Tories said the misplacing of a decimal point made "no difference" to claims Labour had let down the poor. | But the Tories said the misplacing of a decimal point made "no difference" to claims Labour had let down the poor. |
| The pregnancy figure was given in a 20-page dossier, published on Sunday, attacking the government for allowing the creation "two nations" - the wealthy and the impoverished. | The pregnancy figure was given in a 20-page dossier, published on Sunday, attacking the government for allowing the creation "two nations" - the wealthy and the impoverished. |
| 'Deception' | 'Deception' |
| In response, Labour said the correct figure of 54 per 1,000 represented a fall from 60 per 1,000 in 1998. | |
| Children's Secretary Ed Balls said the "dodgy" figures were an insult to communities and called on the Tories to withdraw the document. | Children's Secretary Ed Balls said the "dodgy" figures were an insult to communities and called on the Tories to withdraw the document. |
| The party that prides itself on fairness has delivered the very opposite Tory leader David Cameron | The party that prides itself on fairness has delivered the very opposite Tory leader David Cameron |
| He said: "David Cameron's latest deception and airbrushed statistics cannot conceal the fact that the Tories haven't changed. | He said: "David Cameron's latest deception and airbrushed statistics cannot conceal the fact that the Tories haven't changed. |
| "They are totally out of touch and have nothing to say on the important issue of reducing teenage pregnancies except smears and distortions." | "They are totally out of touch and have nothing to say on the important issue of reducing teenage pregnancies except smears and distortions." |
| House of Commons leader Harriet Harman told the BBC: "You would have thought that someone [in the Conservative Party] would have thought 'Surely there's something wrong about this'. | |
| "They are so out of touch. Someone junior made a mistake and no-one picked it up." | |
| 'Let down' | |
| The Liberal Democrats' chief of staff, Danny Alexander, said: "The Tories seem to think that half our teenagers are pregnant, our cities are like The Wire and that people will get married for a few extra quid. | |
| "If they really believe Britain is like this, it's remarkable that Conservative MPs can pluck up the courage to leave their houses. | |
| "They should lower their drawbridges, spend less time tending their moats and duck houses, and join the rest of us in the real world." | |
| But a Conservative Party spokesman said: "A decimal point was left out in a calculation. | |
| "It makes no difference at all to the conclusions of a wide-ranging report which shows that Labour have consistently let down the poorest in Britain." | "It makes no difference at all to the conclusions of a wide-ranging report which shows that Labour have consistently let down the poorest in Britain." |
| Tory leader Mr Cameron and party chairman Eric Pickles will later launch a poster campaign designed to reach out to voters who would not usually vote Conservative. | Tory leader Mr Cameron and party chairman Eric Pickles will later launch a poster campaign designed to reach out to voters who would not usually vote Conservative. |
| In the foreword to the "Two Nations" document, Mr Cameron said: "Labour's great claim is that they are 'for the many, not the few'. | In the foreword to the "Two Nations" document, Mr Cameron said: "Labour's great claim is that they are 'for the many, not the few'. |
| "That rings hollow today. This report exposes the truth: after 13 years in government, the party that prides itself on fairness has delivered the very opposite. Labour have failed the poorest in our society." | "That rings hollow today. This report exposes the truth: after 13 years in government, the party that prides itself on fairness has delivered the very opposite. Labour have failed the poorest in our society." |