George Osborne attacks Labour government spending
Speaking at the CBI annual dinner, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne launched a ferocious attack on the former Labour government's "reckless spending" in the last few months of office. The new coalition government has announced a review of all Labour spending decisions over the last few months with speculation that a number of senior civil servants were unhappy at the rate at which funds were being allocated to new projects.
There are even accusations that the Labour government underwent something of a "scorched earth policy" leaving the incoming government with massive spending commitments which will need to be addressed and revised. Whether the situation is quite as bad as the coalition government is now making out is open to debate because ultimately if the government can pin as much blame as possible to the former government this will take some pressure off David Cameron in the short-term.
One of the main problems which George Osborne will have in the months and years ahead is that voter memories are very short and by the time the next election comes around the blame for controversial and hard-hitting cost-cutting exercises would be aimed at him. There are still many senior Labour members who believe that losing this election is not the end of the world with so many difficult decisions to be made.
Share this..
Related stories
What will Alistair Darling do next week?
We are already starting to see various leaks in the financial press regarding the pre-budget report which will be announced by Alistair Darling next week. Despite the fact that Parliament is supposed to be the place where the pre-budget report is announced, there have been various well-placed leaks in the press this week and we will see more next week. So what can we expect to see? There is alr...
Read MoreCar road tax rises well above inflation
Those who are looking to tax their cars over the next few weeks will notice a substantial increase in the cost which is moving ahead well above the rate of inflation. Despite a number of promises by the government the vast majority of UK car owners are set to be hit with substantial rises in road tax, a situation which looks as though it will get worse in the longer term. So why are the authoritie...
Read MoreBudget 2010: Check out UK government spending plans for 2010/11
The UK government's £704 billion budget for 2010/11 will be spread amongst many different areas of the UK economy but there are some striking issues which will need to be addressed in the short to medium term. So where exactly will your money be spent? By far and away the largest expenditure will be on Social Security which is expected to cost £196 billion, health is not far behind on £122 b...
Read MorePolice bonus payments under review
In what many believe will be a total restructuring of the UK public sector it has been revealed that the police bonus system is to be reviewed, a move which has been backed by Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson. Sir Paul, who is said to have turned down bonus payments of around £100,000 since 2005, believes that the system is flawed and potentially costing the UK taxpayer £40 m...
Read MoreUK could be pulled into £290 billion Euro bailout
There is a stark warning for UK taxpayers this morning with a suggestion that problems within the euro zone could impact upon EU members to the tune of £290 billion. Aside from the immediate problems regarding Greece and the ever growing budget deficit, it is believed that the likes of Portugal, Ireland and Spain are nearing situations which will require bailout funding from their EU counterparts...
Read More