Speaking of spin, I wonder how these
five General Election pledges are going to be measured?
Quote:
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secure the economy, make it hi-tech, raise living standards, protect services, and strengthen community fairness
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Sorry to be pedantic, but can we just score these five so far:-
secure the economy - epic fail
make it hi-tech - mmmm, Government IT Programmes have such a good record, and they're cutting spend on IT (see article below)
raise living standards - see "secure the economy", as one follows the other
protect services - with the cuts promised, I wonder how? (see Guardian Budget article below)
strengthen community fairness - meaningless verbiage that can't be measured
Guardian
Quote:
The government announced in its November pre-budget report that it would be finding annual £11bn savings in spending across Whitehall but, until today, had not revealed precise plans.
The cabinet minister making the largest trim to his budget was the health secretary, Andy Burnham, who offered up more than a third of the total savings, cutting £4.35bn. He said his department could save £1.5bn by driving down the cost of procurement, £100m from IT programmes, £60m from reducing energy consumption and £555m by reducing staff sickness and absence.
Other notable cuts include £1.1bn from Ed Balls's Department for Children, Schools and Families, £431m from the Ministry of Justice, which will include the closure of 20 magistrates courts, and £700m from the politically sensitive Ministry of Defence budget
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