How long can a Prime Minister in a democracy lie to his country and get away with it? Gordon Brown is trying to find out. His Big Lie – that his published plans do not involve a cut in public services – would not have withstood a Spending Review, which would have spelled out departmental budgets from April 2011-April 2014. So, it has been postponed.
Current sending is being run on budgets set out in the 2007 review (itself delayed) which lasts until 2010-11. Since it was drafted the forecast for 2010-11 tax revenue has fallen by some £150bn. So should not budgets be altered to reflect the (to put it politely) changed economic conditions? Of course. But Brown is delaying this, as it would expose his lie: that public spending will continue to rise under him. He has already factored in cuts: we saw that in the spending envelopes laid out in the last Budget.
Britain’s best politics newsletters
You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in