THE TELEGRAPH: David Cameron has warned that his plans to tackle Britain's economic woes will affect the way we live for decades.
In a keynote speech on the economy, the Prime Minister said that the economic situation he had inherited from Labour was worse than he expected.
If drastic cuts were not implemented, the Treasury would be spending an annual £70 billion on debt interest within five years - more than on schools in England, transport, and fighting climate change put together, he said.
Speaking alongside new Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander, Mr Cameron told an audience in Milton Keynes that now the Tory-Liberal Democrat coalition had been given access to the books, it was clear that the ''overall scale of the problem is even worse than we thought''.
''How we deal with these things will affect our economy, our society - indeed our whole way of life,'' he said.
''The decisions we make will affect every single person in our country. And the effects of those decisions will stay with us for years, perhaps decades, to come.
''It is precisely because these decisions are so momentous, because they will have such enormous implications, and because we cannot afford either to duck them or to get them wrong that I want to make sure we go about the urgent task of cutting our deficit in a way that is open, responsible and fair,'' he said. >>> | Monday, June 07, 2010
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: George Osborne is planning to eradicate Britain's budget deficit by emulating Canada, where borrowing was brought under control within just three years by spending cuts of 20 per cent.
The Chancellor will announce a "once-in-a-generation" revolution in public spending inspired by Canada in the mid-1990s, when the government turned a budget deficit of nine per cent of GDP into a surplus.
Canada brought public spending under control guided by the principle that people should ask "what needs to be done by government and what we can afford to do".
Mr Osborne and his Liberal Democrat deputy, Danny Alexander, will attempt to bring about a similar change of mindset in Britain.
The ambitious plan will be welcomed by those who believe swift and decisive action is necessary to bring Britain's budget deficit and spiralling national debt under control quickly.
However, it is likely to prove controversial with those who believe it could tip Britain back into recession and public sector workers who face losing their jobs. >>> Andrew Porter, Political Editor | Sunday, June 06, 2010
