us who have to go to all three breathe a long sigh of relief. But it is
worth pausing to consider what is at stake at the election when it comes
to public spending.
Each of the parties has a different goal for deficit reduction. The Tories are committed to closing the deficit and achieving a surplus by 2018-19 and want to include all types of Government spending in their calculations. Labour is committed to balancing the books, not creating a surplus, and will do so 'as soon as possible' in the next parliament and exclude capital spending from its considerations. The Lib Dems fall somewhere between the two, intending to balance the budget by 2017-18 and exclude some forms of investment spending.
From all of this technical detail, some very different implications emerge. If the Tories stick to their plans, they will need to find £37bn worth of new cuts to Government spending in addition to the £9bn that are already planned for 2015-16. The Chancellor announced this would all be done without tax rises, which means major cuts to spending on benefits, tax credits and departmental budgets, even before they find £7bn for the tax cuts they plan to offer. Education spending will not be protected.
Register now to continue reading
Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Unlimited access to news and opinion
-
Email newsletter providing activity ideas, best practice and breaking news
Already have an account? Sign in here