Labour-Tory spending battle continues
By politics.co.uk staff
Labour is refusing to stop attacking the Tories on spending cuts, prolonging the spat which started on Wednesday morning.
Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley told the Today programme the Tories would maintain spending on health, education and international development but would impose ten per cent cuts elsewhere.
The gaffe was music to Labour’s ears and party officials have been lambasting the Tories over the comments for the last three days, saying the party has “let the cat out of the bag”.
But the Tories have described Labour’s stance as “juvenile”.
Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Philip Hammond said: “Andrew Lansley himself said he could have been clearer.”
But he called for a grown-up debate on the cuts which will have to made after the next election, whichever party is in power.
“Something has got to give and what the public want is for us to stop this sterile, rather juvenile debate and start talking about how we are going to deal with this very difficult period for public spending in a way that minimises the impact on front line public services,” he said.
His Labour counterpart, Liam Byrne, admitted serious decisions had to be made on spending but promised it would continue to grow under Labour.
“Between now and 2013/14, public spending will rise by £86 billion but if we make a series of very difficult choices on, for example, tax and, for example, on efficiencies, we can halve the budget deficit over the course of five years,” he told the Today programme.
“Now, does that involve painful choices, I’m afraid it does but what we are saying is that we are not going to cut widely and deeply and now as the Conservatives propose because we think that would be bad for public services and bad for the country.”
