Mandy demands Tory ‘truth’ over cuts
Peter Mandelson has called on David Cameron to reveal the true extent of his spending cut plans, saying voters deserve “the truth” from the Conservatives.
The business secretary’s comments came after the Tory leader promised at the weekend not to impose immediate “swingeing cuts” on public services.
Lord Mandelson described Mr Cameron as “bobbing about like a cork in water” and called on the Tories to “level with the British people”.
The 2010/11 financial year begins in just two months, he pointed out, before suggesting that if the “Laurel and Hardy” duo of Mr Cameron and his shadow chancellor George Osborne continued to be reticent about their plans voters would begin to suspect there were “hiding the truth”.
“The impact on people’s livelihoods and their jobs could be riding on how the Tories make up their minds on their spending plans for this year,” he said at Labour’s party headquarters in central London.
“What we are witnessing from the Tories is either a dishonest rhetorical gloss to hid their true intentions or a remarkable intellectual collapse.”
Mr Cameron explained yesterday that he wanted to “make a start” on getting Britain’s public finances deficit under control.
But, he added, a May election meant the 2010/11 financial year would already have got underway.
Lord Mandelson said the Tory leader had “overspun” his rhetoric comparing government budgets to family budgets.
He dismissed the comparison as “economically illiterate” before embarking on wider criticisms of Tory attitudes towards the economy.
“His tough talk has imminent dire consequences if the Tories get their way,” Lord Mandelson said.
“It would pull the rug from under the recovery. There is a huge risk in taking this stance for the Conservatives. The knock-on impact… would be devastating. Put simply, the Tories will strangle the recovery at birth. That is why the public is entitled to know the truth.”
