Osborne to shift cuts debate
By politics.co.uk staff
George Osborne sought to move the debate on from spending cuts as he outlined his party’s plans for dealing with the economy in a speech today.
The shadow chancellor tried to rebut business secretary Peter Mandelson’s claims that his party are in “complete confusion” over spending cuts.
It follows David Cameron’s claim at the weekend that the Tories would not introduce “swingeing cuts” in their first year in office. Yesterday shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Philip Hammond offered only £1.5 billion of spending cuts for the next financial year.
Mr Osborne outlined eight categories under which Tory economic policies should be judged: ensuring macroeconomic stability, creating a more balanced economy, ‘getting Britain working’, ‘making Britain open for business’, ensuring the whole country benefits from prosperity, reforming public services to ensure better value for money, creating a safer banking system and building a greener economy.
The shadow chancellor has persuaded Lord Stern, the author of an influential report on climate change, to be an economic adviser under a Tory government. The Conservatives propose setting up a green investment bank to help Britain’s green technologies develop.
In a statement released later, however, Lord Stern said he did not support the Conservatives as a political party, undermining Mr Osborne’s triumphant presentation of what had appeared to be a big Tory success.
“We need new sources of growth,” Mr Osborne said.
“Our new economic model will be built on long-term saving and investment. We want to see a private sector recovery driven by exports and enterprise.
“And we want government to support this new economic model with a competitive tax system, modern infrastructure like superfast broadband, investment in green technology and lasting education and welfare reform.
“From the ashes of the debt boom we will build a saving society.”
Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable mocked the speech as “apple-pie politics”.
“This is the third time the Tories have changed their economic policy in as many weeks,” he said.
“George Osborne’s latest announcement of eight benchmarks is motherhood and apple-pie politics.
“We all want to see a stable, growing economy. The question is how we get there, and on this the Tories have no answers.”
-01.png){kind=spacer}