Labour cuts?

Two articles that you need to read today. Both are from The Guardian and both show that Gordon Brown isn't even fooling his own supporters with his "Tory cuts v Labour investment" spiel.

The first reports Conservative claims that:

" Labour (is)... planning to impose swingeing spending cuts on a series of government departments, including the Ministry of Defence, immediately after the general election.

In an intensification of the battle over spending, the Tories released figures which showed 12 departments, dubbed the "dirty dozen", that will see their spending cut by billions of pounds in real terms during the final year of the current spending period in 2010-11.

The MoD will see a real terms cuts of £2.9bn while the communities department will see its spending cut by £2.8bn."

The second is comparison by Carl Emmerson, deputy director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies of Labour and Conservative spending plans. Carl Emmerson's conclusion is that

"The budget set out plans for total public spending increasing over the three years from April 2011 in cash terms, but by less than the expected rate of inflation. This leaves Labour implying an estimated £26bn cut in central government spending. If the Tories wish to spend less – to reduce borrowing faster or deliver a tax cut – then they will need to cut by more than this."

Maybe someone could question Gordon Brown about the £26 billion of planned Labour cuts.