Britannia Radio

For all the hype, the Spending Review told us nothing new about the level of public spending or the amount of capital investment that the Government is planning. All of that was in the Budget. Much of the rest was just politics. But there was some good news. There will be action on the dodgy “progression” that sees many public sector staff receiving big pay hikes even when their pay is supposedly frozen. During most of the supposed public sector pay freeze, overall public sector pay not only increased but did so faster than private sector pay. So much for a 'freeze'! - Matt Sinclair, Chief Executive Spending Review - a fair deal for taxpayers? There was also some bad news. Foreign aid continues to get special treatment which means higher taxes and more cuts in other areas. But the big picture remains that more action is needed to cut public sector waste and give families a better deal. Subsidies for the arts Jonathan Isaby joined a YouGov debate (which you can watch online) with Harriet Harman and Sir Peter Bazalgette, chairman of the Arts Council. He stood up for the rest of us who have to pay, saying that money spent subsidising the arts is often extravagantly wasted and should be left in taxpayers’ pockets.