Britannia Radio

BBC 1 Andrew Marr Show 19.4.09
Osborne not bound by public sector pension deals

George Osborne, Shadow Chancellor

Mr Osborne said an incoming Tory government would not be bound by 
Labour's deals on public sector pensions.

He said the main focus of his economic policy would be on spending 
restraint, although he could not rule out tax increases and he 
confirmed he would keep Labour's planned 45p tax rate but look to 
avoid rises in National Insurance.

On the email smears which targetted his wife, he said Mr Brown had 
not apologised to his wife but it was the "culture in Downing Street" 
which needed to change and revelations that party boss, Ray Collins, 
had attended meetings on a web site proved the affair went "well 
beyond Damian McBride".

"The bulk of the strain of dealing with this hole in the budget must 
be on spending restraint. While I have not ruled out tax rises, if I 
was Chancellor, I would be looking at spending restraint. There will 
have to be a very serious period of spending restraint  We will have 
to take hard decisions which will not necessarily be popular," he said.

He would ensure public sector pay: "reflects the prevailing economic 
conditions," he said, adding: "I am not bound by any deal Labour has 
done with the public sector unions on pensions. But I will do it in a 
way that is fair. I am not out to slash and burn the public sector."

He refused to name particular government programmes that would be 
cut, saying: "We are looking at the entirety of government spending."

But he added: "These will be Labour cuts, it is the Labour party that 
has been in power 12 years."

He said Labour's 45p tax rate would be kept but added: "I would love 
to avoid the NI rise. That is where I am focussing my effort, on that 
rather than the 45p rate."
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CONTRASTING VIEWS     19.4.09
Mandelson - Admitting that rising public debt was a problem he said 
"We are going for growth. That is the best strategy- indeed the only 
strategy- if we are to avoid greater costs and greater borrowing."  
BBC 'World this Weekend' Radio 4
. . . Conservative warnings over rising public debt were misguided. 
"Of course these numbers are serious but the reason these debt 
figures are going up is to get us through the recession as quickly as 
possible. . . . mounting public indebtedness would not be as costly 
to future generations as the recession itself."  Sky News

Ken Clarke  - "This is the gravest economic and political crisis I 
have encountered in my career . . . "this grossly indebted Labour 
government must not give in to pressure for more spending. "They must 
not set out fresh packages of gimmicky things to borrow and spend our 
way of recovery or let short term politics take precedence over the 
long term health of the economy. They must behave responsibly.  Sky News

George Osborne  -  "We should not be overtaxed because Labour has 
overspent." -The Sunday Times

Alex Salmond - warns Labour it will suffer at polls if public 
spending is slashed - Observer  [That's Scotland sorted then -cs]