Spending Cuts & Economy - Austerity Forever!

[Si Hunt]

Big cuts ahead on this day... but have there been any clues or predictions as to what they're going to announce?

Si.

[SiHart]

The first details are in- 8% cut to the Defence Budget: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11570593

He said RAF and Navy numbers would be reduced by 5,000 each, Army numbers by 7,000 and the Ministry of Defence would lose 25,000 civilian staff by 2015.

Nimrod reconnaissance planes would be axed and there will be fewer frigates and destroyers, he said.

Si xx

[SiHart]

And a 50% cut to the social housing budget: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11570923

The social housing budget in England is to be cut by more than 50% in the Spending Review, the BBC understands.

Council houses "for life" will also end for new tenants, with their entitlement assessed at regular intervals.

Si xx

[Jon Masters]

Messrs Cameron and Osborne will do unspeakable things to our nether regions and smile, while bitchboy Clegg moons around in front of a bunch of shame-faced Lib Dem MPs.

Then they'll claim they had to because of the budget defecit.

Brace yourselves......

[SiHart]

They'll also tell us, repeatedly that it was all the previous administration's fault and that something tough had to be done.

That's all they've been saying since they came to power.

Si xx

[Captain Tancredi]

That's all any government does- I remember Diane Abbott pointing out about seven or eight years ago that Labour had failed to live up to plenty of its 1997 election promises and they had the majority to fulfil those promises if they really wanted to.

[Si Hunt]

I'm braced... though maybe this is the flipside to not being in one of those "minority groups" that gets handouts at every budget. I take nothing from the State so I can't think what there is they can take away! Though I expect I'm wrong.

Si. :mobile

[WhiteCrowNZ]

One of the big things that's impacted people I've worked with is news the Harrier will be phased out April 2011. A bit of a surprise to the people who write the software as they're due to install new software in March 2011.

So doom and gloom there.

However the Labour government was kind of thinking of phasing it out in 2012 - but weren't commited to saying anything. Problem is this now leaves the UK Navy with 2 aircraft carriers and no aircraft on them - I think the term is "sitting ducks".

And another issue is the Harrier worked really well in Afghanistan - where it's been in operation as the only fighter/bomber in the RAF to support troops up to 2009. I think it wouldn't be so bad if we weren't still bogged down there.

--------------------

Against this the Government are pushing ahead with getting a replacement for Trident. Which'll be expensive. Do we really need a new nuclear capability? What our armed forces are bogged down in are conventional wars with conventional equipment. I'm not suggesting scrapping nuclear capability, but asking do we really need a new one?

I get the feeling as our nuclear capability is bought from America, and in fact the UK can't use it without the US President's authorisation, this is more political than common sense.

[Rob McCow]

An almost psychotically vehement argument in favour of Trident Subs was put forward on The Register a while back - http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/05..._vote_lib_dem/

My understanding was that they were talking about sharing our nuclear capability with France.

But looking at the costs, Trident is a side issue, albeit an important one. The real money is tied up in healthcare and pensions. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-10924719

The healthcare budget is double the defence budget (ostensibly a good thing) but you have to ask why it is so massively expensive.

Also:

Work and Pensions Annual budget: £9bn (This is for departmental spending set every three or four years - separate from the £192bn spending on welfare and pensions)

£192 billion is not to be sneezed at.

What bugs me is that they're cutting relatively cheap services that provide a benefit to the same extent that they're cutting the ludicrously expensive services that are contributing a great deal more to the debt. In my opinion, the 'Pensions Timebomb' is exploding now and this is where the Government need to be looking to find new arrangements. What the hell they do about it when all these pensions are guaranteed, without being monstrously unfair to people who have worked hard all their lives, is a complete mystery.

[Si Hunt]

They can't really win.

When it suits them, everyone is anti-war. Why are we spending billions on rockets and tanks and weapons when there is a financial crisis, they cry? Get our boys home!

Then when the Government stop spending money on defence, you get a poor Hero soldier on the cover of the newspaper saying "Mr Cameron, why am I out of a job?"

I think our armed forces do a wonderful job, but you can't have it both ways. If we're going to stop spending billions on weapons and wars overseas, then some people who were employed for them are going to be out of a job.

Si.

[Si Hunt]

Labour can't even go for power for another couple of years can they? Just for once, wouldn't it be nice for the opposition party to support the party in power for the good of the country, rather than just, as you'd expect, opposing whatever they do for the sake of it.

Or just keep quiet. Quite honestly, how they have the nerve to say "this is not the right way to get us out the crisis" is beyond me - they've had fifteen years to do it their way and didn't, so they should just shut up now and let the people in power get on with it, whether it turns out for the best or not.

Si.

[Si Hunt]

Thousands of protesters gathered in Westminster on Tuesday to lobby MPs ahead of the announcement.

Why wait to find out what the Government are going to do? Let's just protest against whatever it turns out to be!

Si.

[WhiteCrowNZ]

Labour can't even go for power for another couple of years can they? Just for once, wouldn't it be nice for the opposition party to support the party in power for the good of the country, rather than just, as you'd expect, opposing whatever they do for the sake of it.

I think it's all the razzle-dazzle of politics. The job of the opposition party is to try and get elected next term. And to do that they have to reiterate time and again that they were against the policies that you most object to in this current Government.

Unless you haven't noticed the only thing both sides of the house are unanimous about is "hey now we're voted in ... how about a whacking great pay rise?".

[Si Hunt]

I'm aware this is fantasy on my part. But for what it's worth I'd be more convinced by, and feel less hateful of, an opposite party if they said "Actually, policy A is good. We'd do that. Policy B and C are awful". You know, base it on TRUTH, rather than just appearing to disagree on principle.

Si.

[SiHart]

Or just keep quiet. Quite honestly, how they have the nerve to say "this is not the right way to get us out the crisis" is beyond me - they've had fifteen years to do it their way and didn't, so they should just shut up now and let the people in power get on with it, whether it turns out for the best or not.

Well you could argue it's different in charge of the party, with different policies and a different leader they're perfectly entitled to do that.

If we all kept quiet and just got on with it, then the where would that leave any of us? If they cut the libraries and stuff here I'll be making it known that I think this is bad thing to do. Sometimes you really have to.

Si xx

[Rob McCow]

In any case, Labour are fundamentally opposed to the cuts. It's the very nature of their party to provide a quality welfare state. For them not to say anything now would be absolutely against everything that Labour stands for.

[Si Hunt]

The key announcements so far:

Spending on NHS, schools to be protected
Structural deficit to be eliminated by 2015
Extra £2bn in capital spending
Debt interest to be reduced by £5bn by 2015

They're going to cut the deficit by spending more!

Is that it then?

Si.

[Si Hunt]

About 490,000 public sector jobs likely to be lost

But we knew that already I think.

Si.

[Si Hunt]

Police funding cut by 4% a year
Retirement age to rise from 65 to 66 by 2020

Why so shy about the retirement age with the population getting younger and a pensions crisis? Up one year in the next decade?! Why not raise it to 70!

Si.

[SiHart]

Why so shy about the retirement age with the population getting younger and a pensions crisis? Up one year in the next decade?! Why not raise it to 70!

Perhaps they're watching what's happening in France at the moment and that's got them worried!

Si xx

[SiHart]

But we knew that already I think.

This makes it official. That's one in every ten public sector workers- a whopping amount. Redundancies are now inevitable.

Si xx

[SiHart]

What's interesting about the rise in retirement age is that it hits women very hard. Traditionally they've always retired 5 years earlier than men, but this equalises the retirement age. That might not be popular with half the population!

Si xx

[Si Hunt]

Have they said it will be the same? Equality, and all that.

I think we all knew there would be public sector redundancies. That includes Whitehall, don't forget.

Si.

[SiHart]

And of particular interest to me:

7.1% annual cut in council budgets

Hmm. This is on top of the savings we've had to make already this year. This means a huge reduction in local services is on the way, despite the assurances given.

Si xx

[SiHart]

Have they said it will be the same? Equality, and all that.

Yep. Equality is on the way!

Retirement age for men and women to rise from 65 to 66 by 2020 - four years earlier than planned - saving £5bn a year

Si xx