MK condemns "destructive" Comprehensive Spending Review

Mebyon Kernow has condemned the savage spending cuts outlined in the Comprehensive Spending Review as “destructive." We have consistently opposed the extent, severity and speed of the Coalition Government’s cuts, which we believe could undermine the economic recovery, lead to significant job losses, and hit the less-well-off and the vulnerable.

MK remains concerned at the savage extent of the average 19% four-year cut across departmental budgets, the estimated 490,000 jobs likely to be lost in the public sector and the knock-on effect to the wider economy.

Cornwall Council will also see an annual 7.1% fall in its budget for each of the next four years, leading to severe local cuts and job losses.

We are also angry that George Osborne has announced that he intends to further slash welfare spending by a massive £7 billion and cut social housing budgets by more than 50%, with new tenants having to pay higher rents.

We agree with the first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that the Coalition's cuts are "too fast and too deep" and risk stalling any recovery.

Many economists are expressing concern that these harsh cuts could undermine the fragile economic recovery and even lead to the possibility of a double-dip recession.

I agree with my colleague Cllr Stuart Cullimore, MK’s Social Justice spokesman and the Cornwall Councillor for Camborne South, who has remarked that the Comprehensive Spending Review marks a return to the politics of Thatcher and is "more about ideology than dealing with the public debt."