Labour’s unfunded spending commitments

Yvette Cooper on Monday revealed two parts of George Osborne’s policy of which I was unaware. The first was his secret plan for swingeing tax cuts. Next, she informs us, “by my tally, the Tories have commitments of an extra £11bn of unfunded promises”. Well by the ONS tally, revealed this morning, Labour’s unfunded spending commitments total £19.1 billion, and that’s just since the start of the financial year in April. This time last year it was £8.1 billion.

This is one for ConservativeHome’s Scorched Earth Alert – vandalisation of the public finances, driving down the pound which is in turn pumping up inflation.  Of course, the money will have to be repaid by taxes raised by whoever wins the next election. There is a certain vindictive logic to Brown’s tactics. But for as long as this destructive agenda is being pursued, no Labour MP has the right to complain about Tories “unfunded spending promises”.