Alexander: People at the top will pay the most

Danny Alexander, chief secretary to the Treasury, commented on the tax changes and spending cuts that come into effect today on the Today programme:

“It is an average gain for 80% of people, a much more significant loss for the people at the top.

“If a country isn’t able to deal with its finance problems it’s not the rich who lose out as a result of that, it’s the poorest who get hit hardest when those problems are not dealt with.

“And you know if we dragged out these cuts over a longer period, the consequence would be more cuts for more people for a longer period of time, and more money wasted in the mean time on debt interest.”