Ministers burrow under the ring-fences for spending review

Bids for the 2015/16 spending review will land on George Osborne’s desk today from Secretaries of State across Whitehall. Some, like Iain Duncan Smith and Patrick McLoughlin, are signed up to the idea that their departments need further cuts. McLoughlin, as a former chief whip, prefers to avoid conflict, while Duncan Smith has made it known for some time that he’d like a bit of conflict with the Lib Dems over his budget, with a number of cuts sitting ready on his desk if only Nick Clegg and colleagues backed down on their refusal to touch Work and Pensions spending again. As yesterday’s Telegraph interview showed, IDS is also frustrated with David Cameron’s similarly recalcitrant attitude towards pensioner benefits, highlighting the absurd situation of tough cuts in welfare for those of working age when the winter fuel payment continues to go to those who spend it on things the state probably doesn’t need to give them help with, like expensive claret.