article_snippet: British politicians on both sides hope to recreate the powerful attack that Ronald Reagan famously launched against Jimmy Carter in the 1980 US Presidential election, when Ronald Reagan asked if voters if voters felt voters incomes had improved over four years.
article_snippet: After years of austerity and slow growth, The Tories' had given up hope being able to go into the election with voters feeling the benefits of the recovery.
article_snippet: George Osborne told MPs: 'To the question of whether people are better off at the end of this Parliament than people were five years ago we can give the resounding answer 'yes'. '
article_snippet: The British people for years paid the heavy price of the great recession. '
article_snippet: The attack is based on the claim that austerity choked off the recovery in 2010, leaving employers unable to give pay rises.
article_snippet: the Chancellor spent an hour telling people people have never had it so good but working people are still GBP1,600 a year worse off on average after five years of the Tories.'
article_snippet: Much of the discrepancy can be explained by the fact that the Tories and Labour are using different figures and different time scales.
article_snippet: Labour's figures also only cover the period up to April 2014, compared to George Osborne date at the end of 2015.
article_snippet: Labour is still looking back a year, while the Tories are looking ahead seven months, based on a forecast.
article_snippet: Being told you're better off will alienate those who are struggling, but after years of austerity voters also want a bit of optimism.
article_snippet: Even if voters do not yet feel like the good times are back, voters will want to believe George Osborne when George Osborne says: 'The sun is starting to shine.'
article_snippet: And for the first time in five years George Osborne has some figures to prove it.