Lib Dem spending plans ‘must be credible’
Pubs and clubs could be forced to pay for late night policing themselves under new proposals from the Liberal Democrats.
The idea is one of those being considered by the party as it tries to find £15 billion of government spending to scrap and divert into underfunded services.
Treasury spokesman Vince Cable told delegates at the Lib Dem conference in Brighton that “in an age where all politicians are regarded with some cynicism, no-one is any longer impressed with uncosted or unfunded spending promises”.
“I have made it clear we shall not go down that road but identify explicitly the choices we are making,” he said.
Yesterday the conference voted to support a new tax package, which claims to cut taxes for 90 per cent of people, and scrap the old policy of a 50p top rate of tax.
It was hailed by the leadership as proof that the Lib Dems could be credible on taxation, but today Mr Cable insisted that this must be backed up by “rigorous” plans on how taxpayers’ money would be spent.
Julia Goldsworthy MP is leading a review to find £15 billion in government spending to scrap – for example in stopping the expensive ID card scheme and making pubs pay for late-night policing – to invest more in areas such as mental health.
“The issue here is simply put but not easy to deliver – identifying those areas of public spending which must be cut to accommodate our priorities,” Mr Cable said.
But he noted that the Lib Dems’ economic credibility also rested on providing a “convincing critique” of Gordon Brown’s policies – something he then launched into with gusto.
For too long the chancellor had been “basking the fading glory of decisions taken a decade ago,” Mr Cable said, citing Bank of England independence – which was originally a Lib Dem policy.
“There is a mounting list of expensive failures and errors, such as health PFI schemes and the administration of the tax credits scheme, many of them directly attributable to his centralising instincts. The result is a mess,” he said.
Both the government and the Conservatives were “wholly silent” on the issue of personal debt which was threatening the futures of millions of young people, Mr Cable continued.
And increased immigration had “brutally exposed” the lack of properly skilled workers in the UK, he said, adding: “Our need for so many workers from abroad is a shocking condemnation of our education, health and welfare systems.”
Future Lib Dem priorities would include ensuring interest rate decisions were made on the basis of house price inflation as well as wage inflation; the tightening of Mr Brown’s fiscal rules; and making the Office for National Statistics independent.
Finally, Mr Cable said they would also include a commitment to international trade and an opposition to “stupid, selfish, inward-looking” protectionism practised by the US and many European countries.
