Boris Johnson could axe hundreds of government projects as he orders ministers to cut waste

Pet schemes of Cameron and May could be scrapped as ministers told to root out all wasteful spending

Hundreds of government projects launched under David Cameron and Theresa May could be in line for cuts or the axe after Boris Johnson ordered ministers to conduct a value-for-money review of all their departments’ activities.

No 10 is braced for squeals of protest from those involved in schemes set up over the past decade who could now see their funding streams abruptly cut off.

Ministers were told at cabinet to report back to chancellor Sajid Javid and Treasury chief secretary Rishi Sunak in the run-up to the March Budget and the spending review later in 2020, which will set a course for government expenditure for several years.

Downing Street played down suggestions that the review heralded a new round of public service cuts, saying instead that the prime minister wanted to ensure that spending was in line with the priorities of his new majority administration.

But Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell warned that it signalled a return to the austerity of the Cameron years.

“During the election, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said that austerity was baked into the government’s future spending plans,” said Mr McDonnell. “So this looks like a cuts round dressed up as an efficiency exercise with the government desperately looking for funds down the back of the sofa.”

The prime minister’s official spokeperson declined to give any indication of which projects might be at risk, but made clear that the review will include schemes instituted by Mr Johnson’s Tory predecessors, which are no longer seen as relevant.

Some of these will have been agreed with Liberal Democrats during the coalition years of 2010-15 or while Ms May was being propped up by the DUP from 2017-19, when the Tories had no majority.

Johnson and Javid told the first cabinet of the year in 10 Downing Street that the 11 March Budget would be a time for “tough decisions” on spending, to prepare the economy for the next decade.

“They said ministers need to root out any waste – particularly anything that is not aligned with the government’s priorities – and demonstrate value for money of every pound of taxpayers’ money that we spend,” said the prime minister’s spokesperson.

“It was a very clear message that all cabinet ministers will need to root out waste and ensure that spending is fully focused on the government’s priorities.”

Along with getting Brexit done, the spokesperson identified the government’s priorities as “levelling up across every corner of the United Kingdom, making our streets safer, improving our NHS, and driving up standards in our schools”.

He left no doubt that the pet projects of Cameron and May would not be regarded as untouchable sacred cows in the review process.

Eyeing up a scrap heap: Johnson and Javid (EPA)

“This is a new government which was elected on a new manifesto with a new set of priorities,” he said. “That is what the prime minister and his colleagues will be focused upon.

“So, all secretaries of state were encouraged to go through their departmental spending and their projects, each and every one in detail and ensure that there is no waste – and that where waste exists, it is rooted out.”

Rejecting suggestions that the drive represented a return to the age of austerity, the prime minister’s spokesperson said it was about “ensuring that taxpayers’ money is being spent on the country’s priorities and ensuring that we deliver upon the manifesto on which this government secured a significant majority”.

At a Westminster briefing, shadow chancellor John McDonnell referred to Johnson’s previous pledge to lie in front of bulldozers to stop a third Heathrow runway being built. Mr McDonnell said: “I’m hoping [the latest plans are] going to be part and parcel of scrapping any associated expenditure with Heathrow airport expansion. That would save a lot of investment on bulldozers for running Boris Johnson over.

“If we were coming into government we would be doing an exercise ourselves in terms of looking for prioritisation of projects ourselves – but remember the Conservatives have been in government for 10 years.”