Osborne confirms that there will be no more Tory cuts this year
Peter Hoskin 10:50am
David Cameron said as much in his Today Programme interview, but now we know for sure: we've heard everything we're going to about Tory spending cuts this year. George Osborne confirms the news in an interview with the Guardian today:
It's tempting to point out that £6.5 billion worth of cuts pales beside a deficit of £163 billion and a debt burden of around £1 trillion. But it's also true that we should really judge a Tory government on the cuts they make in subsequent years. Not only do spending decisions take a while to filter through the system – but, also, Osborne would have had his hand on the wheel for long enough to properly alter the course of Brown's spending tanker."In the interview, the shadow chancellor also disclosed, for the first time, that he would not reduce public spending by more than £6.5bn in the current financial year. He said £6bn would come from efficiencies, and £500m from cuts to child trust funds and working tax credits for the better off.There would be no further 'in year' cuts in his emergency budget, scheduled within 50 days of a possible Tory victory, he said."
I suppose the question now is whether there would be any further "in year" tax rises in that Emergency Budget. Only an election, and few months, stand in the way of us finding out.
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Ahiata
April 3rd, 2010 11:08am Report this commentMake it up as you go along. Sad really.
I also want to know what will happen to VAT? If VAT goes up to pay for NIC reduction, then I am not a happy bunny. But I am not holding my breathe to get an answer on that one.
Naomi Muse
April 3rd, 2010 11:11am Report this commentHold The Front Page!
If what is revealed in the Times City Diary yesterday is true, there is £26bn more sitting in the Treasury that Broon has apparently forgotten from secret tax deferrals by big corporations caused by the cash crisis in the banks...
Apparently Broon would be too shame faced to admit that he had 'forgotten' this dosh. Worth an FoI query, to reveal all whilst the rest of the world thinks about chicks and eggs.
Tim W
April 3rd, 2010 11:34am Report this commentOsborne bangs on about producing a 'Credible plan' for sorting out the deficit. I agree with him that £6.5bn may be all that is sensible and possible in the first year (which has already started). But he needs to make it very clear either before the election or in his emergency budget after it roughly what cuts will be made in years 2, 3, and 4. To some extent all parties have agreed that the cuts will be deeper than Thatchers in those years so announcing them early and getting cross party agreement could help with any re-election prospects.
Richard
April 3rd, 2010 11:49am Report this commentOne really does wonder just how the business leaders will feel when VAT rises to 21%.
Osborne may have reversed a part of the NI rise... but for higher earners (management and upwards) it is still in place.
So if NI is a tax on jobs, VAT a tax on sales, seems to me that they will get the proverbial double whammy from the tories.
Perhaps they will look again at the Labour proposals?
perdix
April 3rd, 2010 12:25pm Report this commentThe Tories have said they have no plans to increase VAT. Do keep up!
Richard
April 3rd, 2010 12:52pm Report this commentNo Plans hey.......they have a track record of saying that and doing the opposite.
Follow the rise in VAT and see who increased it.
mike
April 3rd, 2010 1:02pm Report this commentI understand if elected, the privileged ones will be asking their dads to help out with a few bob to see them through.
denis cooper
April 3rd, 2010 2:03pm Report this commentTo simplify, there's been a gradual convergence between the budget deficit reduction trajectory publicly proposed by the Tories and the budget deficit reduction trajectory publicly proposed by Labour, and the two are now barely distinguishable.
And because for electoral reasons the Labour government hasn't done much in the way of trimming public expenditure during the period of grace provided by the Bank of England creating around £198 billion for the government to borrow and spend, much of that initial trimming has been deferred until after the election.
So we're now about a year behind where we should be, and we'll stay about a year behind unless the gilts market forces the government to accelerate cuts and catch up.
And even then, neither party has stated that their proposed trajectory would be extrapolated to the point where the government actually balanced its books, and then started to run a budget surplus so it would be in a position to pay down the accumulated debt.
Peter From Maidstone
April 3rd, 2010 4:01pm Report this commentNicholas, I am in full agreement with you.
I have asked the moderators why they allow trolls to dominate the site so much.
TGF UKIP
April 3rd, 2010 4:03pm Report this commentJust as some Coffee Housers have been saying for these past few years - Brown Labour, Blue Labour - no difference.
Ahiata
April 3rd, 2010 4:24pm Report this commentPerdix - I thought the mantra was that nobody could rule out VAT rises. Also extending the scope of VAT is not the same as increasing the rate of VAT.
sandy
April 3rd, 2010 4:53pm Report this commentIncredible to me that Osborne is not proposing an immediate public sector recruitment freeze on taking office.
Ahiata
April 3rd, 2010 5:13pm Report this commentPeter, you are so right. To quote Rod Liddle the 'overwhelming' majority of posts are from trolls.
That includes you and me.
mike
April 3rd, 2010 6:45pm Report this commentPeter From Maidstone "I have asked the moderators why they allow trolls to dominate the site so much."
Sticks and stones Pete, sticks and stones.
perdix
April 3rd, 2010 9:02pm Report this commentAhiata 4.24 - as I would interpret it, if you extend the scope of VAT, meaning that something zero rated would have a rate applied, that would also mean an increase.
Snowman
April 3rd, 2010 9:43pm Report this commentwill he also confirm that there will be no more frost this year?
Ahiata
April 3rd, 2010 10:22pm Report this commentSnowman, you sound like a turkey voting for Christmas!
Snowman
April 4th, 2010 12:16am Report this commentAhiata at 10.22
Try, for a change to use your head for thinking rather than putting a hat on. Whoever wins the next election will have to face a five-year stint far worse than the time of the blitz, and without the help from the Winstons of this world. The party, or parties if I’m right that Labour and the sandal wearing bunch are to form a coalition, will be buried forever sorting the mess out. Hopefully, the Tories defeat will also see the end of Dave, and the country will get to choose next between a decent Tory party, and whatever else comes out the remnants of the two losers.
You reckon I wrong?
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