Sajid Javid’s spending review is ‘panic measure’ ahead of snap election, warns McDonnell

Shadow chancellor warns that Boris Johnson will turn off the spending taps as soon as the campaign is over

(PA)

Chancellor Sajid Javid’s spending review next week is a “panic measure” designed to pave the way for a snap election, John McDonnell is to say.

In a speech on Thursday ahead of Mr Javid’s 4 September statement, Mr McDonnell will warn that any spending boost for public services will last only long enough to get the Tories through an election campaign.

And he will predict that Boris Johnson’s spending tap will be turned off again once the campaign is over and the reality of a no-deal Brexit starts to impact on the public finances.

Mr Javid cancelled a planned speech on Tuesday in order to announce new week’s spending review, which will cover government department budgets only for 2020-21 rather than the usual three-year period.

It is understood the chancellor has informed fellow cabinet ministers of their headline budget totals.

Speaking at Church House in Westminster on Thursday, Mr McDonnell will claim the mantle of “people’s chancellor” as he brands the move a “one-off, pre-election, panic-driven, stunt budget”.

Citing reports that Mr Javid will maintain his predecessor’s deficit targets, Mr McDonnell will say: “Philip Hammond’s austerity rules will be kept in place meaning another year of austerity.”

The shadow chancellor will say: “Nobody is fooled that this is a normal and proper spending review that any normal, strong and stable incoming government would undertake.

“It’s a one off, pre-election, panic driven, stunt budget.”

And he will add: “As someone who has been called the people’s chancellor, I can tell you that these stunt measures not only fail to address the people’s priorities, they demonstrate that the Tories have no appreciation of the people’s pain imposed on them by year after year of Tory austerity and cuts.

Sajid Javid asked for a 12-month spending round instead of a longer-term exercise in a bid to 'clear the ground ahead of Brexit' (PA)

“People see though this as crude electioneering, ruthless opinion poll politics.”

A spending announcement already made by Boris Johnson’s administration had been exposed as involving less new money than was initially suggested, he will say.

“Whole areas of social need like child poverty, social care and local council services that do not often figure high in the opinion polls are ignored,” Mr McDonnell will say.

“This spending round also lasts for only one year and is a one off.”

Public service professionals fear that any boost to funding from Mr Javid will turn out to be “a bouncing cheque, where the one year pre-election spending promised funding lasts as long as the election campaign, especially as the impact of a no-deal Brexit hits”.

Mr McDonnell will say: “At a time when the economy needs certainty and long-term planning, all the evidence points not to a serious spending round but to an election stunt, inadequate and insecure, lasting as long as an election campaign.”

Rishi Sunak, the chief secretary to the Treasury, dismissed his opponent's comments and accused him of trying to "wreck our economy".

He added: “Labour would hike taxes, waste more and drive away investment and, just like last time, hard-working people would pay the price.

“Only Boris Johnson and the Conservatives will deliver Brexit on 31 October and have a plan to invest in our NHS, deal with violent crime and cut the cost of living – getting our country on the road to a brighter future.”