Patrick Nolan

What should the Chancellor do in the Spending Review?

With this autumn’s Spending Review set to be one of the most important moments in the life of the Coalition Government, Reform has linked up The Spectator’s Coffee House blog to ask what could – and should – be in the final document. This post and all previous posts have been collected in a report that you can download here .
 

1). Hold the line on eliminating the deficit in one term

The coalition Government must hold the line on the commitment to eliminate the structural deficit in one parliament. Delaying the task will simply make it harder. Unless programmes and entitlements are reformed now, then the growing costs in areas like health and pensions will swamp any savings identified. Deviating from plans will also damage the coalition’s fiscal credibility – meaning that the costs of government borrowing will rise.

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