Brown finally admits that there will be cuts in public spending
Prime Minister changes his tone after pressure from Cabinet ministers
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Gordon Brown and David Cameron do battle across the dispatch box yesterday as the row over public spending dominates Prime Minister's Questions
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Gordon Brown changed his tune on public spending last night, admitting Labour would have to cut Government programmes, as he tried to refocus his attack on the Conservatives.
The Prime Minister insisted that Labour would secure economic growth, efficiency savings, asset sales and public-sector reforms to protect frontline services which would be at risk under a Tory Government. But he said it would be "fine" for other programmes to be "cut" and that Labour would face "hard choices".
"I want to get the resources to the frontline – to the police, the hospitals and schools," he said.
Rejecting David Cameron's repeated claims that he was being "deceitful and dishonest" about the need for lower spending, Mr Brown insisted: "I have always told the truth, I have always told people as it is. I have explained we have a deficit reduction plan for the future. But you cannot do that without growth and employment in your economy."
He told the BBC: "The honest thing to do is to say we have to get back to growth and jobs. The dishonest thing is to say this will happen without taking any action at all."
His new language followed pressure from Cabinet ministers, including the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, for a more realistic approach amid fears that Mr Brown's "Tory cuts" message was cutting little ice with voters, who knew cuts were needed to fill the black hole in the public finances, whoever was to win the general election. As The Independent revealed yesterday, the Cabinet has agreed to acknowledge the need for savings in the hope it can turn public spending into a vote-winner for Labour.
But ministers were privately aghast that Mr Brown did not reflect the new approach when public spending dominated Prime Minister's Questions for a third session running. He was again accused of issuing misleading figures.
The Tories claimed the Prime Minister was "in denial" after he disputed a confidential Treasury paper, leaked to the Tories and brandished by David Cameron. The paper admitted that there would be a "reduction in medium-term spending" overall when building projects and day-to-day running costs were added together.
Mr Brown made a gaffe by speaking of a "zero per cent rise" in total spending. He later admitted his mistake, saying he was referring to a 0.7 per cent average rise in real terms in current spending in future years.
Mr Cameron told him: "Today we see a Prime Minister in full retreat. In the first answer, he says that we are going to get a zero per cent. increase in public spending – that is a new one. In the second answer, he finally admits that he is going to cut, and cut deeply, capital spending. He talks about the debate about public spending; the debate is about whether the Prime Minister can be straight with the British public."
The Tories also attacked Mr Brown's statement that it was the wrong time to hold a government-wide spending review "in the midst of a recession". They accused him of hiding the need for "Labour cuts".
Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, accused both main parties of conducting a "bogus debate" about spending. He accused the Prime Minister of "living in complete denial" about the long-term savings needed to balance the nation's books and claimed Mr Cameron wanted to cut spending now, which would be "economic madness".
The public spending watchdog warned that the NHS and education could not be immune from spending cuts because they were "inefficient".
Steve Bundred, the chief executive of the Audit Commission, told a fringe meeting at a Local Government Association conference: "Both political parties have pledged that whatever happens they will protect health and education... that's a big mistake. Health and education are the two services that have been most generously funded over the past decade but they are among the most inefficient services."
As the battle over spending intensified, Lord Mandelson re-ignited his feud with George Osborne, the shadow Chancellor, by accusing him of lying.
The Business Secretary claimed Mr Osborne had told a "deliberate untruth" by alleging that the Opposition was being denied access to government figures on public spending. He said the allegation had been flatly rejected by the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Gus O'Donnell. "There is a very unattractive pattern of behaviour that is starting to emerge with George Osborne, of innuendo in pursuit of a smear," he said.
Mr Osborne stuck to his guns, insisting the Tories had been denied the chance to inspect a database detailing public expenditure in 12,000 key areas. He said they had requested sight of the Combined Online Information System at two meetings but were rejected.
Downing Street said Mr Brown was unaware of these requests. The Tories challenged Lord Mandelson's claim that decisions on releasing information to opposition parties was a matter for civil servants rather than ministers. They cited a letter from Mr Brown to Mr Cameron last December saying that requests for information "should be dealt with at ministerial level".
Lord Mandelson clashed with Mr Osborne last Summer after they both spent time on the yacht of the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaski in Corfu.
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Comments
The problem with being a pathological liar is; you can't admit you have lied. So he will not go to the commons and show himself up for the mendacious twat he is.
The real world experiences of Asian countries in 1997 was exactly the opposite. They let the failed businesses go under, but they put more money into other businesses. S Korean invested in fibre optics, China in anything that exports, even Thailand put money into new roads, rails etc.
Gordon Brown follows the same old flawed Labour model, encouraged by ignoramus 'Keynesian' Vince Cable to plunge headlong into saving failed banks. Well done. Now the failed banks are still failed banks but we are out of money. What do we do next?
Next he'll have to stop the nonsense about conservatives.
Finally he will have to talk about his tax increases 5% on base rate and Vat at 20% anyone.
The tax golden goose of asset taxes has gone for a fairly long while as with the misrepresentation all
of his own design.
By now the vast majority of the population realise that Brown is an incompetent, unprincipled vindictive megalomaniac. His only aim is to stay in the place he schemed, and plotted to grab over so many years. He is deluded into believing his own publicity, that he is a brilliant economist and politician. Whereas Vernon Coleman got it right. The man is really a moron, and morons should not be running the country.
It is only natural for any human being to defend himself from attack and criticism, but not facing up to them is very unhealthy and not a good leadership quality required of a Prime Minister.
Is that admitting that he is a liar? How does he think he can remain as prime minister?
The scope to cut waste in the public sector and thus reduce spending without compromising front line services is exactly what the Tories have been saying is possible for months. But Brown first lies by saying that the Tories will sack teachers, doctors and nurses, lies again by saying savings cannot be made without devastating front line services, then steals the Tories ideas and claims the idea of efficiency savings as his own and finally lies by saying that only he will deliver efficiency savings and the oppposition parties will cut front line services. Never heard such nonsense in all my life. In the last 12 years Brown has firehosed breathtaking amounts of money at our public sector but very little has made it to the front line, most has been wasted. He talks a good talk but delivers very little. I just hope and pray that voters are not fooled by this.
Brown is partisan to the extreme. He dosen't care about the country. He merely cares about Labour being back in power.
When Hitler was in the bunker and about the be overrun by the Russians, he issued orders( but not carried out), for the destruction of Germany. Saying that the citizens deserved it as they had let him down. McMental has the same attitude, unfortunately we have a cabinet that will not stop him.
Are the main factors, that got us away from 70% national debt we
ran up previously.
here's to the next forty years then.
Brown and his city fiends have destroyed the work of 40 years.
But hey, lets roll the dice again.
The jobless rate rose there to 9.5%. Who is going to have to print currency to pay for this? Not Britain. However much one wishes Brown had been more vigilant when the opportunities still existed to resist the so called "liberalisation" of markets - our little currency adjustment back to $1.65 and ?1.16... seems about right to me. The dollar is a great deal more challenged in the longer term. Everybody's currency is in "trouble" to the degree that all economic activity has down-turned - - the only question is the relationship between them. Sure there are going to have to be some cuts... what goes up must come down... but I'm not personally going to miss Trident... or a million fewer civil servants come to that. There are welcome cuts and unwelcome cuts - he who wields the knife needs to know what really needs pruning. Britain has a surprisingly broad range of companies selling a crap load of stuff that generates wealth... that this will grow while financial services gets its act back together in the nezt few years, is no bad thing either. Shame that New Labour blew their opportunity but Cameron will one day be even more unpopular than Brown.. unimaginable as that seems - it's as inevitable as the tide coming in. People who slag Keynes can no longer fall back on Friedman - the most blatantly discredited economist and ideologue ever after recent events.
"I have always told the truth, I have always told people as it is. I have explained we have a deficit reduction plan for the future"
Like all these improbable promises which will require a huge amount of effort this will have a totally impractical target date like reducing deficit by 50% by 2088 way beyond a time when they will be able to influence things. Politicians should be restricted on making claims anything beyond their current remit (maximum 1 year at present). Rather than going on claims of being a reformed character we should go by past performance - when economy was good and tax receipts high the deficit still rocketed, why should we expect that to change now. Perhaps the Deficit Reduction Plan is allowing the Tories to win the next election. Some plan Oaf!
That is the most undeniable admission that for 12 years, he had wasted taxpayers money.
Plain English, we are going to sell Britain off to the cheapest bidder, float our remaining gold reserves on the markets and privatise public services.
How much more damage can this country sustain. GPS sold off as British Telecom, Water sold to private companies, Electricity and nuclear power sold to French companies, Gas sold off to private companies, gold sold off under a disgusting price when this pillock announced its sale to the world.
The man is an idiot of the highest degree.
Amazing that only yesterday on the BBC he categorically stated he "did not lie and does not lie". How does he get that nose into Parliament?
Not lieing when he promised us a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty?
Not lieing when he distorted figures regarding immigration.
Not lieing when he told MPs the sale of power to the French was the only option?
Not lieing when he accounts for his expenses?
Not lieing when he denies public cutbacks?
If this is the profile of a man who does not lie, i would hate to have a discussion with a habitual lier?
You hurt a lot of people scratching round for 'middle class' votes.
Yet you pretend to be a friend of the poor. You are no such thing, you are a friend to greedy bankers, and you confuse money with wealth.
BTW, where's Alastair Darling these days?