It’s public spending time again, dear CoffeeHousers, with a couple of eye-catching articles in today’s papers. The first is a comment piece by Steve Bundred, chief exec of the Audit Commission, on the necessity for extensive spending cuts. If you recall, Bundred claimed a few days ago that health and education shouldn’t be ring-fenced from cuts, and here he repeats the point, adding a snappy conclusion:
“So don’t believe the shroud wavers who tell you grannies will die and children starve if spending is cut. They won’t. Cuts are inevitable, and perfectly manageable. We should insist on a frank and intelligent debate about how and where they will fall, which will then enable everyone to make more sensible plans.”
And the second is the Sunday Times scoop that civil servants are already drawing up “doomsday” plans for 20 percent cuts in public spending, fearful that “politicians are failing to confront the scale of the budget black hole”.
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