Gordon Browns era of public spending is over
There are rumours this weekend that Alistair Darling, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, is demanding at least £15 billion in Whitehall "efficiency cuts". Despite the Labour government attacking the Conservative party for suggestions that public spending should be cut over the next two years, it looks as though the UK government is being forced into a similar move itself.
Alistair Darling already reduced the annual growth in public spending to a paltry 1.2% last November and is set to slash this figure even further this week. This has massive implications for public spending over the next 2 to 3 years and while the cuts are described as "efficiency cuts" they are in fact a reduction in investment. Under the leadership of Gordon Brown, in his days at the Treasury, the UK public sector ran out of control and now employs more people than ever before.
We also have the issue of public sector pension liabilities which are falling on the UK taxpayer at a time when private pensions are under severe pressure. After nearly a decade of substantial growth in the UK economy it appears that Gordon Brown's "dream scenario" is long gone and the UK economy is set to suffer some time to come.
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