The Guardian view on Labour’s spending review: the chancellor tightened belts and loosened seams | Editorial
The government offers capital investment and fiscal prudence but real-terms department cuts and grand promises could strain political credibility
Brexit’s ghost haunts a Labour spending review intended to lay the foundations for a second term. Its headlines echo the twin themes of the referendum campaign: control immigration, fund the NHS. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said she would end the use of hotels for asylum seekers “in this parliament” saving £1bn a year, while NHS spending will rise by 3% a year. Ms Reeves framed it as a politics of security and compassion. Yet it reads as Brexit’s populist promises, filtered through Westminster orthodoxy.
The risk is that this is all slogan and very little solution. The asylum savings are speculative, and the annual increase in NHS budgets is below its historical average. There are also real-terms cuts or essentially flat budgets for key departments such as transport, education and local government. The Home Office faces cuts deeper than asylum savings alone, prompting alarm from police and the London mayor, Sadiq Khan.
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The Guardian view on Labour’s spending review: the chancellor tightened belts and loosened seams | Editorial to Continue reading...
NHS Forums - For NHS Staff | Patient Forums
The government offers capital investment and fiscal prudence but real-terms department cuts and grand promises could strain political credibility
Brexit’s ghost haunts a Labour spending review intended to lay the foundations for a second term. Its headlines echo the twin themes of the referendum campaign: control immigration, fund the NHS. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said she would end the use of hotels for asylum seekers “in this parliament” saving £1bn a year, while NHS spending will rise by 3% a year. Ms Reeves framed it as a politics of security and compassion. Yet it reads as Brexit’s populist promises, filtered through Westminster orthodoxy.
The risk is that this is all slogan and very little solution. The asylum savings are speculative, and the annual increase in NHS budgets is below its historical average. There are also real-terms cuts or essentially flat budgets for key departments such as transport, education and local government. The Home Office faces cuts deeper than asylum savings alone, prompting alarm from police and the London mayor, Sadiq Khan.
Continue reading...
By Editorial
The Guardian view on Labour’s spending review: the chancellor tightened belts and loosened seams | Editorial to Continue reading...
NHS Forums - For NHS Staff | Patient Forums
