UK government under attack from economic think tank
The National Institute of Economic and Social Research has today rejected Alistair Darling's claim that he can half the UK budget deficit by 2013/14 and indeed it has also called into question his promise to reduce government debt. After carrying out a review of the government's tax and spending plans for the short to medium term the Institute believes he will fall well short of his 50% budget deficit reduction and net borrowings will still remain around the 6.8% level in 2013/14 despite promises to bring it below 5.5%.
The economy will play centre stage as we approach the next general election with Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats all having their own specific strategies and ideas for the future. However, it is the economic strategies of the Labour Party and the Conservative party which are at opposite ends of the spectrum and will polarise voters more than ever. Gordon Brown has promised a spend, spend, spend phase to support the UK economy while David Cameron believes the budget deficit needs be addressed sooner rather than later, which will lead to significant public sector investment reductions.
We will see a number of reports and reviews of each party's economic strategies in the coming months and they could well give very different opinions and views going forward.
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