The claim that Labour won’t cut spending is just Balls

When Gordon Brown sends ministers out to lie about his spending plans, he can only really depend on Ed Balls to do it effortlessly. Some, like Andy Burnham, don’t understand his elaborate scam – and tie themselves in knots trying to. But Liam Byrne is a former businessman who does understand a balance sheet (and understands the concept of cooking the books). Yet he was instructed to hold a press conference today on Cameron’s cuts. Sadly, I wasn’t invited* but Byrne was ably grilled by the hacks who were present – and the following exchange with Nick Watt of The Guardian (which he has blogged) is worth repeating here. In it, Byrne concedes that spending post-2011 will fall.

NW: Can I ask you a question and if you could give me a yes or no answer that would be very helpful. When Gordon Brown set out the spending envelope in the House of Commons last week from now to 2014, that amounted to, as you said, a cash increase of £86bn.