Cuts vulnerability highlights north-south divide
By politics.co.uk staff England’s north-south divide will not be “shifted overnight”, Nick Clegg has said, after research revealed the north-east is the region with the greatest vulnerability to spending cuts. Research for the BBC by Experian identified Middlesbrough as the most vulnerable of 324 local authority areas, with Hartlepool, Sunderland and Redcar and Cleveland all […]
TUC: Cuts will incite ‘poll tax’-scale revolt
by Peter Wozniak The government’s push for deficit reduction will lead to public unrest on the same scale as during Margaret Thatcher’s failed attempt to introduce a poll tax, the Trades Union Congress has argued. Kicking off a campaign to oppose the coalition’s spending cuts at the grassroots level, the TUC implied that the government’s […]
Blair on the cuts: Labour has to be ‘credible’
by Peter Wozniak Tony Blair has warned Labour to alter its strategy on the economy if it is to have any hope of winning the next election. The former prime minister argued: “If Labour simply defaults to a ‘Tory cutters, Lib Dem collaborators’ mantra, it may well benefit in the short term; however, it will […]
Osborne to cut Treasury staff ‘by a quarter’
by Peter Wozniak The Chancellor is to set an example for all government departments by axeing staff in his own, according to media reports. In preparation for the October spending review, Mr Osborne is allocating cuts to each government department, amid calls from individual ministers to spare specific spending commitments. Of the 1,350 staff who […]
Analysis: Osborne begins the long defence
We’d better get used to the arguments used in George Osborne’s first truly defensive speech as chancellor, for they will be repeated many times in the months to come. By Alex Stevenson We knew the chancellor was nervy about the coalition’s close association with spending cuts – and the misery they will bring. This was […]
Retail king turns gaze on government
By politics.co.uk staff Retail giant Sir Philip King has been placed in charge of an external efficiency review of government spending. Staff from the Treasury and the Cabinet Office are being made available to assist Sir Philip as he brings his considerable business experience to bear on Whitehall. He will assess whether government contracts and […]
Pickles shows us the money
By politics.co.uk staff Communities secretary Eric Pickles has opened up his department’s books to “armchair auditors”, in a major step towards government transparency. All spending in the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) over £500 has been released online, ahead of similar transparency in councils later this year. Information for 2009/10 amounts to £314 […]
Unions split over ‘autumn of discontent’
By politics.co.uk staff Division have emerged between the unions over whether or not to orchestrate an ‘autumn of discontent’ in response to the government’s spending cuts programme. The Rail Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) and the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) are both seeking a ‘day of action’ around the time of the comprehensive […]
PM: It’s our duty to cut
By politics.co.uk staff David Cameron invoked patriotic language as he sought to justify the coalition government’s agenda for massive reductions in public spending. The prime minister said ministers had a “duty” to reduce expenditure because of the legacy the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats had been left by Labour. Writing in the Sunday Times, he likened […]
Video: David Cameron on cuts
David Cameron explains his attitude to spending cuts to an audience in Birmingham:
