Archive: Austerity

Must try harder: £35bn remains in uncollected tax

HMRC: Are spending cuts becoming self-defeating?

HMRC has failed to collect £35 billion in tax, partly due to the fact it has laid off staff responsible for collecting the money.

Rachel Reeves speech on 'balancing the books' in full

Comment: The secret birth of a European IMF

Comment: Miliband's support for cuts eliminates his main advantage

Cameron lectures Greece, Clegg lectures Germany

Unrest has been heightened in Greece as austerity measures hit.

The British government has tried to bring the two sides of the eurozone debate together with separate messages to the Greek and German people on the back of a G8 meeting in the US.

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There may be trouble ahead: Cameron and Hollande to finally meet

Hollande and Cameron already have a difficult relationship and they haven't even met yet.

After months of snubs and thinly-concealed barbs, David Cameron and the new French president will finally meet in the neutral territory of Washington DC today.

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Comment: Cameron sees political opportunity in the eurozone crisis

Ian Dunt: 'The speech dresses up Labour and Conservative economic differences not as policy distinctions, but as a national security issue'

The government is no longer about austerity. It is now about protecting Britain from the eurozone crisis.

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Austerity Britain: Homelessness on the rise

Scene from austerity Britain: Homelessness rising

The number of people sleeping rough has risen and could become even worse when housing benefits are cut next year, a new report has warned.

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Frosty reception: May takes on the coppers

Theresa May faced outright hostility when she spoke at the Police Federation today, in what became a bruising encounter for the home secretary.

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Comment: May treats us police officers with contempt

Julie Nesbit: 'We'd like to think our voices were actually being heard'

The police are being disrespected and the public are being put at risk. It's time for the government to do one of its U-turns.

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Cameron and Clegg come out fighting as Europe turns against austerity

Not so funny anymore: Relations have cooled since the rose garden press conference two years ago

David Cameron and Nick Clegg delivered a rare joint speech today, as they reaffirmed their commitment to deficit reduction amid an anti-austerity mood in Europe.

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MoD firefighters to go on strike

MoD firefighters are striking over pension changes

Bases handling flights to and from Afghanistan will function on a skeleton staff next week, when Ministry of Defence (MoD) firefighters join strikes against pension changes.

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Labour MP: Voters 'responsible' for austerity if Boris stays

Jon Trickett: 'The Tories will feel strengthened'

Voters will be responsible for austerity policies unless they vote against Boris Johnson this week, a Labour MP has claimed.

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Far-right enjoys huge support in French election

Francois Hollande casts his ballot during the first round of the election.

Marine Le Pen's far-right party enjoyed a massive boost in the French elections, in a sign that the financial crisis hitting Europe could help extremist parties across the continent.

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Budget 2012 as-it-happened

Missed the Budget and PMQs? Catch up with all the details in politics.co.uk's live blog.

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Nick Clegg 'John Lewis' speech in full

Nick Clegg: 'The problem - turning ideas into prosperity'

Read Nick Clegg's speech, in which he calls for a 'John Lewis' economy, in full on politics.co.uk.

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Fitch: UK could lose AAA rating

The Fitch rating agency comments on the state of the UK economy ahead of Budget 2012:

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Plaid: We need jobs outside of inner London too

Jonathan Edwards, Plaid Cymru's economy spokesperson in Westminster, comments on the state of the UK economy ahead of Budget 2012:

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politics.co.uk podcast: Time for tax cuts

What steps can George Osborne take to stimulate the recovery?

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Westminster disgusted by Olympic 'disobedience' call

Union chief Len McCluskey's call for strikes and "civil disobedience" during the Olympics is attracting widespread condemnation in Westminster.

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Comment: How wartime finance could reduce the deficit

Richard Heller: 'Did our ancestors know more about public finance than we do?'

If you want radical solutions to government debt, you could start by looking at Churchill.

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Rachel Reeves speech on 'balancing the books' in full

Rachel Reeves is shadow chief secretary to the Treasury

Here's the full text of shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Rachel Reeves' first major speech, to the IPPR thinktank:

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Comment: The Tories can't keep on blaming Labour forever

Dr Matthew Ashton: 'George Osborne is so wedded to 'Plan A' he couldn't change course if he wanted to'

Right now, Labour has a credibility problem. But eventually the coalition's excuses are going to wear thin.

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The Osborne tight walk: Credit rating agency issues frosty report

The worse the UK's economic performance, the more reliant Osborne becomes on its credit rating

George Osborne faced the prospect of losing Britain's AAA credit rating today, after a gloomy report from one of the agencies sent shivers through Downing Street.

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Comment: The secret birth of a European IMF

Ian Dunt: 'It is nothing less than a coup against the European left'

An organisation more powerful than any European state is being built and no-one is talking about it.

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The week in politics: Doom, gloom and govt defeats

This week wasn't just depressingly typical. Think about it: it contained, in microcosm, all the themes of British politics in the aftermath of the 2010 general election.

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