Public borrowing rockets to record-breaking levels
By Peter Wozniak Public sector net borrowing rose to £23.3 billion in November, breaking previous records, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has shown. The figure is up from £17.4 billion at this point last year, and outstrips the former peak of £21.1 billion in December 2009. The net borrowing figure, upon which the government […]
As-it-happened: Chancellor vs Treasury committee
Welcome to politics.co.uk’s As-It-Happens page. Here, you can keep up to date with speeches, debates and major political events in real-time. Scroll down and review our commentary with coveritlive below. George Osborne spent his Thursday morning giving evidence to the Commons’ Treasury committee on the comprehensive spending review: By Alex Stevenson As-it-happens: Chancellor vs Treasury […]
Hostile reception for Danny Alexander
By Alex Stevenson Chief secretary Danny Alexander found himself accused of “meddling” in the housing sector and coming up with policies which resembled a “dog’s dinner” while giving evidence to MPs on the Commons’ Treasury committee. The Liberal Democrats’ man in the Treasury, who played a key role in developing last month’s comprehensive spending review, […]
Murdoch backs coalition’s cuts
By politics.co.uk staff Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch has given the coalition government’s spending cuts plans his firm support, warning them they must “stay the political course” to remain popular. His comments came as the Liberal Democrats suffered their lowest popularity rating of just ten per cent in the YouGov/Sun poll. Giving the inaugural Baroness Thatcher […]
Johnson opposes spending review ‘slash and burn’
By politics.co.uk staff Alan Johnson has insisted Labour has a “huge and fundamental” disagreement with the Conservatives over the comprehensive spending review announced yesterday. Beginning the long campaign against the government’s £81 billion spending cuts, the shadow chancellor said his party would not have implemented the “slash-and-burn” approach taken by the coalition government. Yesterday Mr […]
Osborne denies spending review gamble
By Alex Stevenson George Osborne is mounting a defence of his “decisive plan”, a day after outlining the biggest spending cuts in Britain since 1976. The chancellor refused to accept the measures he was taking constituted a gamble, instead insisting the review would create a “platform for economic stability”. Commentators have pointed out a number […]
Comment: Debate must move on from glib view of public sector
The public sector can deliver major savings, and without affecting frontline services, but don’t hold your breath. By Rachel Wynne Last week Sir Philip Green published his Efficiency Review. It reported some startling figures about savings that could be made to the public purse. But mostly it told us something that we already thought we […]
Cuts debate takes shape
By Peter Wozniak Arguments for and against the spending cuts are intensifying in today’s newspapers, as the comprehensive spending review looms. Lord Wolfson, a Conservative peer and the chief executive of Next, has drafted a letter signed by 35 business leaders urging the chancellor to press ahead with an aggressive programme of spending cuts. Further […]
Business leaders give Osborne late boost
By Peter Wozniak A letter co-signed by some of Britain’s top businessmen has issued a resounding endorsement of George Osborne’s spending plans – warning him against “watering down” the cuts. The signatories of the letter published in the Telegraph include the heads of Microsoft UK, Asda, Next and Marks & Spencer. Its publication comes two […]
Osborne’s cuts ‘modest’
By Peter Wozniak The vast spending cuts to be revealed next week by the chancellor constitute “a shower, not a hurricane”, a report has argued. Tim Morgan, of the brokerage firm Tulett Prebon, wrote the comments in a pamphlet for the Centre for Policy Studies think tank. Mr Morgan argued that the cuts package unveiled […]
