Archive: Spending Cuts

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

Carry on cutting: IMF backs UK's spending cuts 'credibility'

Christine Lagarde gives the coalition's cuts a ringing endorsement

The coalition's deficit reduction plan has received a strong endorsement from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

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Interview: Eleanor Laing

Eleanor Laing: 'If I offend a bullying father who beats his daughter for her perfectly reasonable behaviour then I will offend him.'

The sex equality chair talks about breast feeding, multiculturalism and whether you're allowed to say 'calm down, dear'.

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Osborne's 50p tax rate claims trashed

George Osborne's claims about the lack of income from the 50p tax rate are deeply uncertain, experts have warned.

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Budget 2012: Give to the rich, give to the poor

Those at the top to benefit from George Osborne's 2012 Budget

George Osborne is to help the very richest as well as the poorest in society in his third Budget later.

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Cut in aid budget proposed to help defend Falklands

The Royal Navy has been hurt by cuts, some experts warn

Britain would be better able to defend the Falklands if it cuts its aid budget to countries such as India, a former Sea Lord has said.

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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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Public sector pension reform 'makes no financial difference'

Despite the chaos caused by public sector strikes, the reforms ware unlikely to save any money.

The bruising process of reforming public sector pensions will not save the taxpayer any money, a respected economic think tank has argued.

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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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Less police 'doesn't mean worse frontline'

How far will police cuts affect frontline services?

Policing minister Nick Herbert has insisted falling police numbers will not necessarily lead to a worse frontline service.

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Cameron faces growing anti-austerity consensus ahead of Davos visit

David Cameron makes his case during a previous Davos forum

The prime minister faces a building consensus against the government's austerity programme, ahead of a crucial World Economic Forum meeting next week.

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

Backing austerity is the policy equivalent of shooting at where the clay pigeon is, rather than where it will be.

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Harman: We are fighting spending cuts

Deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman defends Ed Miliband on the Today programme after Unite general secretary Len McCluskey turned on the opposition frontbench's approach to spending cuts:

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Miliband: McCluskey is wrong

Labour leader Ed Miliband dismisses the criticisms of Unite general secretary Len McCluskey over his approach to party reforms and spending cuts:

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McCluskey: Unions will fight the Labour frontbench on cuts

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey launches a major attack on Ed Miliband's Labour leadership in an article for the Guardian newspaper:

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Forces face fresh redundancy wave

Army faces further compulsory redundancies in the future

Up to 4,300 armed services personnel are being made redundant today as the Ministry of Defence (MoD) continues its cuts to the size of Britain's military.

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