Cutting funds 'will be fatal for region'
Sep 17 2009 By William Green and Adrian Pearson
Tories will slash public sector posts
THE Conservatives have signalled they would cut the North East’s public sector employing thousands of people.
In an interview with The Journal, Shadow Cabinet Minister Chris Grayling stressed the need to "rein back" the public sector to cut national debt and claimed Labour should be blamed by failing to help private business.
Other money-saving Tory plans include scrapping ID cards, cutting bureaucracy, abolishing quangos and lowering the cost of politics – although leader David Cameron yesterday refused to set out detailed plans amid suggestions of defence spending reductions.
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has told The Journal that "painful decisions" are needed, but stressed the need to be "honest" and avoid "savage" spending cuts.
His Treasury spokesman Vince Cable has identified savings, including zero overall growth for public sector pay worth £2.4bn a year and a 25% cut in the pay bill of staff earning more than £100,000. Higher employee contributions and later retirement ages would form part of a "radical review" of public sector pensions, while £200m would be saved by ending civil service bonuses.
Mr Cable also proposed scrapping the ID card scheme and NHS computer as well as making £600m of annual savings by curbing centralisation in education and abolishing quangos.
Defence would be targeted and public sector asset sales considered.
