Blair sticks to £35bn Tory cut claim
Tony Blair has reiterated his belief that Conservative spending plans would see £35 billion cut off public services.
Mr Blair first made the allegation – which the Conservatives later branded as a smear – at a poster launch on Thursday. However, he conceded that the figure came from differences in the parties’ future spending plans in 2010/11.
But, in a speech to the Welsh Labour Spring Conference Mr Blair repeated the claims, which is sure to infuriate the Conservatives.
He said that the upcoming election campaign would be fought on “investment versus cuts” and “New Labour versus old Tories”.
The Prime Minister said: “It’s not a Labour smear, it’s a Tory promise.”
He said that it was an ‘odd’ claim that, because the cuts relate to future spending, they were not really cuts: “Surely that’s what the election is about: the future. And we’ve set out spending plans because we say the country needs to continue to build up public investment.
“We’re not saying they are going to demolish the three hospitals we have built here in Wales since 1999 – in Chepstow, Baglan and St Davids. We are warning the four hospitals we’re going to build – in Ebbw Vale, Merthyr, Holywell and Caerphilly – would be put at risk.”
On the Conservatives’ assertion that they would achieve cuts by reigning in waste and cutting back on bureaucracy, Mr Blair said that the Shadow Home Secretary, Oliver Letwin, referred to clinical support staff, ambulance staff, early years workers, medical secretaries, porters and cleaners as ‘bureaucrats’. He said: “They are public servants and doing a more useful job for Britain than the Tory Shadow Chancellor who wants to sack them.”
Mr Blair concluded by re-iterating that the Conservative Party had not changed: “They attack and are designed to attack the whole ethos and values of collective services free to all on the basis of need not wealth.”
Speaking yesterday, Mr Letwin said that the claims about the Tory’s spending plans showed that Labour was rattled.
Mr Letwin said: “This is a desperate attempt to deflect attention from Labour’s vote now, pay later budget. Tony Blair is rattled and wants to distract attention from the fact that he will put up taxes if re-elected.
“Conservatives would increase spending on the NHS, schools, police and pensions. We would spend this money better and avoid the massive scale of waste under Labour. It is completely untrue to suggest there will be cuts to public services. In 2007/8 we will be saving £12 billion and this will allow us to offer lower taxes and fix the debt problem that Gordon Brown has created.”
He said that real choice at the next election would be between “more waste and higher taxes under Labour or value for money and lower taxes with the Conservatives.”
