Latest Channel 4 News:
Row over Malaysian state's coins
'Four shot at abandoned mine shaft'
Rain fails to stop Moscow wildfires
Cancer blow for identical twins
Need for Afghan progress 'signs'

Cameron U-turn over spending cuts?

By Channel 4 News

Updated on 31 January 2010

David Cameron says he would not make "swingeing cuts" to public spending in the first year of a Tory government, despite telling Channel 4 News about his plan to reduce the UK deficit three days ago.

Is David Cameron rethinking his plans to make dramatic public spending cuts? (Credit: Reuters)

The Conservative leader said that while he would make a start on cutting the £178 billion deficit, if the Tories win the general election, he would not move too quickly.

Speaking to the BBC's Politics Show, he explained: "We're not talking about swingeing cuts. We're talking about making a start in reducing our deficit."

He appeared to go back on earlier promises to dramatically attack Britain's national deficit.

On Thursday, he told Channel 4 News: "We've been talking about the scale of the deficit saying we need to cut public spending.

"I accept these are not traditional ways of winning a general election, but we are being truthful with the British people and I think they respect that."


Since disappointing figures suggested the UK economy had only limped back into growth, fears have been growing Britain is heading for a "double-dip" recession.

So is this fear behind the change in tone from the Tory leader? Economics editor Faisal Islam says: "It's a massive change, but I have been expecting it, particularly since Tuesday's poor Q4 GDP number of 0.1 per cent.

"They will argue that the approach of some cuts this year, and major cuts later was clearly flagged as far back as George Osborne's Manchester conference speech.

"Yet in his interview with me in Davos on Thursday David Cameron struck a much more hardline note.

"However, even then, when pushed about whether there was any amount of renewed economic contraction that would lead him to hold off on immediate deficit reduction, he conceded that the scale of cuts would be decided in consultation with the Bank of England."

Also speaking on Sunday morning, the shadow chancellor said "early action" was needed on the deficit to avoid a "Greek-style budget crisis".

Mr Osborne did concede that there was a limit to what he would be able to do in the first year of a Conservative government.

But appearing on the BBC's The Andrew Marr Show, he insisted that it would be a "mistake" to wait until next year to begin tackling what he termed the "albatross of debt".

Lib Treasure spokesman Vince Cable says the Conservatives are "in a muddle".

He told Channel 4 News: "The point is the British economy is in a very fragile state.

"It's not in a position at the moment to take large-scale panicky cuts which is what Mr Osborne seemed to want.

"What is needed is a series of economic tests to judge when this very difficult process of cuts can start, when the private sector's in a position to take up the slack and provide employment."

The comments came as Gordon Brown used his weekly podcast on the Downing Street website to warn that the economy still needed support and that cutting too soon risked tipping it back into recession.

Meanwhile Business Secretary Lord Mandelson launched an outspoken attack on the Tories for being "unpatriotic" about the British economy.

He told the Politics Show: "It is talking Britain down when David Cameron compares Britain ludicrously in everyone's eyes to Greece, And when George Osborne describes Britain as an exhausted runner at the back of a long marathon race unable to summon the strength to build our economy.

"That is disgraceful, it is irresponsible. It's also unpatriotic."

In his podcast the prime minister said that while official figures this week had shown the UK was finally out of recession, the overall world economic situation remained weak.

He said that it was essential that government support measures put in place following the credit crunch continued until growth picked up.

He added: "Return to strong, sustainable global growth is still some way off. So I can reassure you that we are not about to jeopardise Britain's economic future by suddenly pulling the rug from under the recovery."

Send this article by email

More on this story

Channel 4 is not responsible for the content of external websites.


Watch the Latest Channel 4 News

Watch Channel 4 News when you want

Latest Politics news

More News blogs

View RSS feed

Token candidate?

Labour leadership candidate Diane Abbott (credit:Getty Images)

Diane Abbott: I am the genuine move-on candidate for Labour

'Mr Ordinary'

Andy Burnham, Getty images

Andy Burnham targets Labour's 'ordinary' person.

Cartoon coalition

image

How Channel 4 News viewers picture the coalition in cartoon form

Blue blood

William IV and David Cameron (Credit: Getty)

A family affair? Who Knows Who: Cameron's royal links

FactCheck on Twitter

The Freedom Files

Freedom Files

Revealed: the stories they didn't want to tell.

Making a FoI request?

Channel 4 News tells you how to unearth information.

Snowclouds

See how many times a word is used in key speeches, and in what context.




Channel 4 © 2010. Channel 4 is not responsible for the content of external websites.