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Osborne: Spending cuts are 'fair and progressive'
18 August 2010
Chancellor George Osborne has said the government will not be deterred in its efforts to slash the country’s £155bn deficit, saying that failing to act now would be a greater gamble. Speaking to the City yesterday, Osborne said fiscal responsibility had to be both "fair and progressive" and that the country's economic stability depended on a credible plan to restore stability to the public finances. He said: "There are some political opponents who claim that in setting out our decisive plans to deal with the deficit we have a taken a gamble with Britain's economy. "The gamble would have been not to act, to put Britain's reputation at risk and to leave the stability of the economy to the vagaries of the bond market. "Britain now has a credible plan to deal with our record deficit. We must stick by it." Yet, Osborne said that he agreed with the Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King that the economic recovery will be "choppy" but added there is reason to be "cautiously optimistic". Osborne made clear that he believed the choices in the Budget were fair ones to make, including increasing capital gains tax for higher-rate taxpayers and a new bank levy. In addition, he revealed that the government's invitation to the public to give their ideas on how to make savings and change the public sector has received more than 100,000 suggestions in the run up to the Spending Review due in the autumn. The public will shortly be asked to vote on the best ideas. Osborne said: "This Spending Review is a genuinely collective effort; collective around the Cabinet table and collective with the British public. Difficult choices will have to be made." "Fairness extends across the generations, for what is fair about forcing the next generation to pay for the debts of our generation? We are all in this together," he said. Published by Mortgage Solutions
