The stars of the spending review
Peter Hoskin 12:26pm
Insightful work by the FT's George Parker, who traces the choreography of the spending
review in an article for the paper today. What's striking is how much the coalition expects to achieve by what
Parker calls "peer pressure". Ministers who get through their spending settlement quickly and successfully will be held up as examples to their colleagues, and will be drafted into the
the "star chamber" to cast an axeman's eye over other departments' plans. Ken Clarke, we are told, "can hardly wait".
According to Parker, the process is already producing its darlings. Jeremy Hunt has exceeded the Treasury's demands by identifying 50 percent cuts in the budget for running his department. And Caroline Spelman has "earned Treasury plaudits" for her spending plans, only a few weeks after stories that she wasn't complying with the beancounters' demands. Reputations, you suspect, will be made just as quickly as they might be lost over the next couple of months.
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Chris lancashire
August 31st, 2010 1:04pm Report this commentMany will say that the depth of the cuts (50% phew) illustrates the savagery of idealogically inspired Tory cuts. I prefer to think it demonstrates the scale of the Brownite wasteful spending of hard earned taxpayers' money.
Ian Walker
August 31st, 2010 1:34pm Report this commentSounds like Spelman's still got the negatives safely tucked away then?
normanc
August 31st, 2010 2:38pm Report this commentSeems a bit unfair to use this as a measure of a Minister. Some departments (and Hunt's springs immediately to mind) you could make 100% cuts and no one would notice. Others (welfare immediately springs to mind) will find cuts a little harder to come by.
Charles
August 31st, 2010 2:59pm Report this commentChris lancashire:
Just to be clear, this is a 50% cut in the cost of *running DCMS*, not a cut in their budget of 50%.
Seems that "preserving front line services" (i.e. grant in aid for the arts and sport) is an ideology that we can all buy into...
Dave B
August 31st, 2010 3:26pm Report this comment@Charles
I can buy into 'preserving front line services'. Central government giving taxpayer money to arts/sports however, is not something I support.
Chris lancashire
August 31st, 2010 3:31pm Report this commentCharles: Thanks for that, thought we were making progress for a moment. Still, if there's 50% less of the beggars they'd have to spend the money twice as fast to keep up Brown's profligacy so maybe we will still make some reductions.
TGF UKIP
August 31st, 2010 7:41pm Report this commentYes, but what matters most, politically, is who is going to be most proficient at communicating the justification of those cuts and nailing the necessity for them on their Labour predecessors.
Judging on the past performance of the political communication skills of this lot, I wouldn't hold my breath.
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