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The IEA comments on the cuts announced by Osborne
Responding to the £6bn of cuts announced by George Osborne today, Mark Littlewood, Director General of the Institute of Economic Affairs, said:
“There can be no doubt that the cuts announced today are a step in the right direction. It is shameful that the previous government spent so recklessly. This £6bn is certainly a start, but it is the emergency budget which will be the real test for whether the coalition is serious about getting Britain’s economy back on track.”
“Rightly a high proportion of these initial cuts will be borne by the department of Business. The flawed industrial activism policy pursued up to now must be abandoned. A strategy based on government deciding which ideas are likely to be commercially successfully is bound to fail. It is therefore of concern that some of the future spending plans look set to ignore this fact.”
“There are other areas of cuts that are misguided in their approach. Reducing the number of civil servants by not replacing those who resign is an imprudent measure. Staffing the civil service as efficiently as possible requires strategic placement of staff, not an ad hoc plan.”
Notes to Editors
To arrange an interview with Mark Littlewood, IEA Director General, or Professor Philip Booth, Editorial and Programme Director, please contact Stephanie Lis, Communications Manager, 077 5171 7781, 020 7799 8900, slis@iea.org.uk.
“There can be no doubt that the cuts announced today are a step in the right direction. It is shameful that the previous government spent so recklessly. This £6bn is certainly a start, but it is the emergency budget which will be the real test for whether the coalition is serious about getting Britain’s economy back on track.”
“Rightly a high proportion of these initial cuts will be borne by the department of Business. The flawed industrial activism policy pursued up to now must be abandoned. A strategy based on government deciding which ideas are likely to be commercially successfully is bound to fail. It is therefore of concern that some of the future spending plans look set to ignore this fact.”
“There are other areas of cuts that are misguided in their approach. Reducing the number of civil servants by not replacing those who resign is an imprudent measure. Staffing the civil service as efficiently as possible requires strategic placement of staff, not an ad hoc plan.”
Notes to Editors
To arrange an interview with Mark Littlewood, IEA Director General, or Professor Philip Booth, Editorial and Programme Director, please contact Stephanie Lis, Communications Manager, 077 5171 7781, 020 7799 8900, slis@iea.org.uk.
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