Monday, October 30, 2017

Austerity has failed

The Institute for Fiscal Studies finds Tory government spending is no lower as a share of national income than it was after 11 years of a Labour government. The document presents a challenge to claims that Conservative-driven austerity saved the public finances following years of Labour overspending.

In 2007-08, public spending as a share of GDP was 39 per cent, it peaked in 2009-10 at 45.1 per cent and is forecast to be 39.6 per cent this year, according to the IFS.

The UK’s leading economic think tank shows that deep cuts have left the NHS, schools and prisons in a “fragile state”. It adds: “Both the four-hour A&E target and the 18-week waiting period target are being missed nationally.
“The indicators paint a worrying picture for prisons, which, unlike the NHS, have seen large real-terms cuts (over 20 per cent) since 2009-10. Statistics compiled by the Institute for Government show that while the prison population is at roughly its 2009 level, staffing is down and violence (both against fellow prisoners and prison staff) and prisoner self-harm rates are on an alarmingly steep upwards trajectory.”

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