Cameron downplays spending cut ambitions
Monday, 1 February 2010 10:37 AM
By politics.co.uk staff
Public spending cuts under a Conservative government would not be imposed immediately but over a "five-year horizon", David Cameron pledged at the weekend.
The Conservative leader denied yesterday that he was planning "swingeing cuts" within the next 12 months, explaining that with an election in May the 2010/11 year is already under way.
But he told BBC1's The Politics Show that the Tories were interested in "making a start" in cutting down Britain's public finances deficit, set to reach £178 billion this year.
"Look, if we have an election in May, your year is already under way," he wrote.
"We believe in proving we're serious about getting this deficit down.
"And those who say you're taking money out of the economy, I would say: if you don't do this even more money could be taken out of the economy."
He warned that rising interest rates and a lack of consumer confidence were the biggest threats.
He added: "People want to see a government that is taking decisions on a five-year horizon rather than with this government taking things on a five-week or, some say, even five-minute horizon."
His comments came after Gordon Brown warned the Tories planned on "pulling the rug from the under the recovery".
"Others propose immediate and drastic cuts in public services," he said in his weekly podcast.
"I have no doubt that if we did, before the recovery is fully locked in, we would return to recession. That is not the best course for Britain."
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