Government not ‘blindly cutting spending’ or heading for austerity – minister
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones also said cuts to spending at next week’s spring statement would not be an admission of economic failure.
The Government is not “blindly cutting spending” and it is inaccurate to accuse it of heading towards austerity, a Treasury minister has said.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones also said cuts to spending at next week’s spring statement would not be an admission of economic failure.
The Chancellor is set to deliver her statement next Wednesday, against the backdrop of a faltering economy and tighter headroom when it comes to the fiscal rules she set herself in October.
Cuts to welfare that aim to save some £5 billion in 2029/30 were unveiled this week.
Around a million people in England and Wales will lose their disability benefits as part of the welfare overhaul, experts believe.
“Your point on austerity. I mean, just factually it would be incorrect to say that we are doing what the Conservatives did after 2010,” Mr Jones said as he answered questions at the Institute for Government.
“The numbers will be published of course next Wednesday, but as you saw at the budget last year, we are increasing public spending, and we’ve increased it quite a lot.
“The fact is that we’ve got to do this modernisation and reform agenda, but we’re not factually taking (an) approach to just blindly cutting spending, because we think we should just reduce spending without a plan for how to get there.
“So I just wouldn’t recognise that kind of definition of what’s taking place.”
Asked if spending cuts at the spring statement would be an acknowledgement that Labour has failed in its promise to grow the economy, he said “no”.
Rachel Reeves will be responding to new forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility, after the Bank of England reduced its forecasts for growth this year.
The growth figures, combined with higher-than-expected borrowing, are expected to put pressure on Ms Reeves to increase taxes or cut spending in order to meet the financial rules she set at the budget.
She is not expected to change taxes at next week’s spring statement, it is understood.
