24th June 2009

David Cameron: Mr 10 Per Cent

Issue

The Conservative Party plans to make spending cuts of 10 per cent across the majority of government departments.

Key points

In the House of Commons today Prime Minister Gordon Brown challenged David Cameron about his plans for public spending cuts of 10 per cent:

"We've got to face up to the fact that a sensible debate means that the Conservatives are going to cut spending on housing, education, policing and all the vital public services. You cannot evade the fact that your figures are lower than ours in any year and that's the truth about public spending.

"You are the party of 10 per cent cuts in public expenditure. You are the party that would cut the vital public services at a time of recession. We have brought forward public expenditure to help people stay in their homes, to help people get into jobs, to help build schools, to help build hospitals. These are exactly the public services the Conservatives would cut savagely by 10 per cent and that is not going to be allowed to happen"

He has pledged to spend less than Labour this year and in every other year.

"We've made it clear that a Conservative government would spend less than Labour."

David Cameron, Speech to Conservative Party Spring Forum, Cheltenham, 26 April 2009

He has said there will be cuts.

"Does that mean that we are going to have to make tough decisions? Yes. Does it mean that some areas will be cut? Yes it does."

David Cameron, Monthly Press Conference, 16 March 2009

He wants cuts to pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest few - including a ?£ 200,000 tax giveaway to 3,000 millionaires' estates.

This year alone he has said he would make cuts of ?£ 5 billion.

"Let me tell you exactly, we would make a specific suggestion for the Chancellor in this forthcoming Budget, which is to, instead of increasing public spending by so much, which is what he is planning, another ?£ 30 billion on public spending, we say take ?£ 5 billion of that, don't use that for public spending, instead abolish income tax for savers who pay income tax at the basic rate so they don't pay any income tax on their savings."

David Cameron, Alan Titchmarsh Show, 24 March 2009

In the future he would go further - but he just won't tell you how much or where the cuts will fall.

Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley let slip there would be 10 per cent cuts under the Conservatives.

"We are going to increase the resources for the NHS, we are going to increase resources for international development aid... But that does mean over three years after 2011 a 10 per cent reduction in the departmental expenditure limits for other departments."

Andrew Lansley, BBC Today Programme, 10 June 2009

15,000 police

32,000 university places

44,130 teachers

10,000 soldiers