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Brown corners Cameron on Tory spending cuts gaffe
Nicholas Cecil, Chief Political Correspondent10.06.09
Gordon Brown tore into David Cameron's economic plans today after a Tory MP said his party was planning cuts in public spending.
The Prime Minister seized on the gaffe by shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley, who said most departments faced cuts of 10 per cent under the Tories.
Mr Brown called on Mr Cameron to say how many doctors, nurses, teachers and other public sector workers would be sacked under a Conservative government.
"This is the day when the Conservatives have revealed their true manifesto for this country," Mr Brown said at Prime Minister's Questions.
"There can be no doubt that the choice, whenever it comes, is between a Government prepared to invest in the future and a Conservative Party that is going to cut."
Mr Cameron hit back: "The figures that the Prime Minister is hawking around are his own."
However, to the delight of Labour MPs, he added: "The next election, when he has the guts to call it, won't be about Labour investment versus Tory cuts.
"It's going to be an election about the mismanagement of public spending, the appalling deficit he has left and his plans for cuts."
Mr Brown jumped on his words as an admission of Tory cuts: "He is now admitting that the policy of his party is spending cuts."
Mr Cameron argued that Chancellor Alistair Darling had admitted Labour would have to cut public spending.
But Mr Brown replied: "Let him confirm that his proposals are for a 10 per cent cut."
Mr Cameron did not deny Mr Lansley's assertions, simply insisting they were Labour's plans.
Children's Secretary Ed Balls, whose key strategy is to highlight Tory and Labour differences, looked on in delight.
Veteran Labour MP Gerald Kaufman said the Tory proposals, if Mr Lansley was correct, would "take this country back to the worse days of Thatcherism".
Mr Lansley made his remarks on BBC radio this morning. He said departments would see cuts of 10 per cent as the Tories seek to balance the books.
He said the NHS, schools and international development would have "increased resources", before adding: "But that does mean over three years after 2011, a 10 per cent reduction in the departmental expenditure limits for other departments."
Shadow chancellor George Osborne's office insisted Mr Lansley was talking about Labour's spending plans.
But former minister John Spellar said: "Andrew Lansley has let the cat out of the bag. Their spokesmen in transport, defence and most other departments have to come clean on Tory policies."
Mr Lansley was on the radio after the NHS Confederation, which represents 90 per cent of health service organisations, had warned of job cuts because of a £15billion funding shortfall.
Reader views (9)
Gordon Brown is looking more and more like a bloated beached whale, in denial over boom and bust.
A leading taxpayers' group has already identified plenty of scope for cutting waste and I reckon we can look for even more to save taxes rising for hard working families:
ID cards (which won't be 'voluntary'), aid to China, global warming advisers, failing NHS IT systems, fatcat management consultants urging ever more 'change' to boost their income, quangoes, advertising, spin doctors....
- Jools, London
THE UK IS BANKRUPT. FINISHED. KAPUT.
GORMLESS BROWN, MEDDLESUM, JACKBOOT STRAW, BALLS, PRESCOTT AND BLUNKETT BELIEVE THEY ARE RUNNING A JACKBOOT AUTOCRACY.
NEVER, IN THE HISTORY OF THE UK HAS ANY GOVERNMENT BORROWED SO MUCH CASH TO STAY AFLOAT.
CAMERON NEEDS TO ASK BROWN HOW MANY YEARS IT WILL TAKE TO CLEAR THE UK's DEBT CREATED BY LABOUR.
- Reuben Camara, Morecambe UK
Gordon tore into Cameron?
For years, this Labour government has spent, spent, spent, its put the whole country into debit for the next decade at least.
Labour has squandered a remarkable good economy in 1997 and run amok with spend, spend culture, don't care where the money will come from.
Cameron should come out and tell the country as it is. Its the right thing to do - tell the country of the lies that Gordon and Labour have spread - the sheer scale of the debit is unimaginable. Get out there and tell the public what its going to cost them to pay back Flash Gordon's debit of the last 13 years.
- John Hall, Birmingham
We would not need cuts if Brown had been any good at his job for 10 years.
- Harvey N Lawrence, London
Same old - same old....
I remember when past Labour governments talked about conservative 'cuts' - talking about what Labour were promising (in their usual glib manner using numbers that were designed solely to sell themselves to voters) as a fact, then describing the Tory refusal to use the same numbers and fantasy promises as 'cuts'.
This time there are also the too numerous to mention make-work jobs-for-the-boys & girls that will be disposed of - and which Brown and Co immediately attribute to the sharp-end workers rather than the dross quangos and the like they have imposed on the work-force.
I reckon that 10% figure is an indictment AGAINST Labour, showing just how much make-work they have fed into the system in pursuit of their socialist agenda.
- Rogan, Irving
Cameron shouldn't be ashamed of cuts. The one who should be ashamed is Brown, who seems to think that money grows on trees. The British people will side with any party that suggests government cutbacks. Blair/Brown have added endless bodies to the government payroll over the last 12 years. All of the credit rating agencies are watching closely; the only reason that they haven't already lowered the U.K.'s rating from AAA to AA+ (with huge implications for future U.K. borrowing) is simply that they think Cameron will be in power shortly.
- Phil Jones, London UK
What Mr. Brown doesn't understand is that the cuts will be in the multitude of impotent managerial staff and quangos that he created and the funding required to pay for these excesses bankrupted the country before this recession even started. How such a naive person ever became Chancellor is beyond belief!
- Richard Lobell, Altrincham, UK
10% in cuts is just a start. There are plenty more savings to be made in government if all the redundancy, inefficiency and waste is removed. This is a target that Brown should be aiming for too, rather than denouncing.
- Nobby Clark, Perth, Scotland
The conversation doesn't match the headline, but I will be glad to see the cuts. How many outreach or diversity non-jobs do we need?
- Dave Davies, Basingstoke
