If you believe in Britain then there is only one choice

We all know why David Cameron called the referendum on the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union. He called it as he was worried about UKIP taking seats from the Tories at the 2015 general election and he was hoping to sooth Tory divisions on Europe. As a plan it was going well, after all he never expected to get a majority in the 2015 election and those pesky Lib Dems wouldn't support a referendum so he could blame them for not keeping his promise. This is where the Prime Minister fell down. The Tory campaign to keep Labour out with their SNP-Labour coalition propaganda worked too well. It helped swing Lib Dem voters in the South West and West London to swing behind the Tories to keep Labour out.

So he had a majority and for about thirty seconds of enjoyment before Euro-sceptic Tory MPs were on his back and worse hitting the airwaves, doing the one thing the Prime Minister had asked them not to do, they were "banging on about Europe". Now ever since Mrs Thatcher's time in the late 1980s the Tories have been divided over Europe. The Major government was nearly brought down by Tory rebels on Europe. Only reason Sir John Major remained in office was because the Lib Dems were whipped into the lobby to support him over the Maastrict treaty. William Hague as Leader managed to get agreement on 'in Europe but not run by Europe' and that line held until the Prime Minister conceded referendum.

Now the Prime Minister said when making the case for the referendum that the United Kingdom could survive outside the European Union. Of course we could but he doesn't want to. Now the Remain campaign which has been fronted by David Cameron and George Osborne it has been 'project fear' there have been wild claims from them both. Such as suggesting world war three could break out if we left Europe. The Treasury have been suggesting the UK could go into recession, all independent economic forecasters agree. George Osborne has been making a claim that every house hold in Britain would be £4,300 worse off that one isn't true and the Treasury select committee told him to stop using it.

The Remain campaign should have made the positive case for remaining in the EU for Britain but instead we've had claims from the Prime Minister about the danger the United Kingdom faces if we left the European Union. While on a visit to B&Q he used, probably the worst sound bite ever, "it'll be a DIY recession" if we leave. It did mean that the less polite chaps/chapesses in the media did ask him if it put the UK is so much danger why did he call the referendum. He just said it was right to give the public a vote on it. After covering much of it, I can't say I agree with him.

Why don't I agree with him? Well its not just 'project fear' that we have had, we've also had 'project fibs' from the main leave campaign. We've all seen Boris' bus with the £350m lie on the side. Vote Leave were instructed to remove it by the UK statistics authority & by the Treasury select committee. It was this lie that in the end forced Tory MP Dr Sarah Wollaston to switch sides, after the Vote Leave claimed that money could be used for the National Health Service. The amount membership costs the UK is £10bn. A lot of money but Boris & Co have spent it 10 times over during this campaign. 

Vote Leave also claim that Turkey are going to join the EU, they're not. Cyprus have been vetoing Turkish accession talks and are refusing to remove that veto. They are also claiming that there will be a European army. There wont be as it would lead to a transfer of power to Brussels and another referendum before the UK could sign up to it, rough guess the people would say no. They have also been concentrating on immigration a tactic that Sadiq Khan called "project hate"

Vote Leave excluded Nigel Farage and his band of followers from their campaign. Although they have been stealing his policies such as points based immigration system. Mr Farage launched a poster the other day which was almost identical to a poster used by the National Socialist Party in Germany in the 1930s. Its known as the 'breaking point' poster and has been described as "racist", "intolerant", "bigoted", "xenophobic" and of "dragging politics into the gutter". Leave.EU, the campaign Mr Farage is a member of, put out a poster which claimed that an Orlando style attack could happen if we didn't leave the European Union, they took it down after a media firestorm.

Like in any election/referendum the politicians make claims and counter claims and argue among themselves. Well in a general election if a party tells porkies to get themselves elected you can throw them out at the following election, as the Liberal Democrats found out last year. But in this campaign the Leave campaigns have lied about various things already mentioned and tried to whip up tensions over immigration. The Remain campaign have exaggerated fears for the economy about leaving but even when you remove their exaggerated claims the predictions of a recession, higher unemployment are still there from independent experts and on job losses as Michael Gove of vote leave told the Skynews debate "I can't guarantee people wont lose their jobs". 

If we vote to leave it'll mean border controls again between Ulster/Eire border as Ireland would be in the European Union and Northern Ireland would not. Nicola Sturgeon has made it clear that if Scotland is taken out of the EU after voting remain it would trigger another Scottish Independence referendum. It will mean tariffs on all British imports and exports. Meaning everyday items such as food will be more expensive. The value of the pound will fall, of which Nigel Farage said "so what". Mr Farage may not have to worry about higher inflation and rising interest rates but the vast majority of people do. If the economy isn't working then Britain isn't working so if you believe in Britain then there is only one choice tomorrow and it is to vote to remain as a member of the European Union.

Osborne's inflexibility means tax rises or more cuts

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) is warning that George Osborne's "inflexible" pledge to run a budget surplus "in normal times" from 2019-20 was simple but would require a "precarious balancing act". The result is likely to be "big tax rises or spending cuts with very little notice", the IFS concluded. The IFS publishes its annual Green Budget document ahead of the Chancellor's Budget every year, which is highlighting economic conditions and the challenges that will facing the Chancellor, George Osborne as he prepares his 16th March budget.

The Independent Economic Think Tank has concluded that Mr Osborne's target of a balancing the UK's books by 2019-20 is "inflexible" and could have tax and spending implications were he to receive "unfavourable" economic and fiscal forecasts. Only 4 days ago the Bank of England, in its latest Inflation Report, cut its forecast for growth this year to 2.2%. In November it had predicted growth of 2.5%. The IFS also points out that the UK government has only run a surplus eight times in the last 60 years.

The IFS say that George Osborne's "rule has the merit of simplicity and transparency but is very inflexible and this could come at a cost," the Green Budget continues: "Even if the chancellor gets to the March 2019 Budget with his plans intact, past errors in official forecasts suggest that there would be more than a one-in-four chance that he would need to implement in-year tax rises or spending cuts to deliver a budget surplus in 2019-20."

Alongside a budget surplus the Chancellor still has a programme of promised income tax cuts to deliver, which were promised by the Tories at general election, a promise that will cost £8bn a year and which is currently unfunded. faced uncertainty over what the Treasury might receive in tax, and needed to maintain a squeeze on government spending.

Responding to the Institute for Fiscal Studies ‘Green Budget’ Lib Dem Treasury Spokesperson Susan Kramer said: "The IFS has confirmed that George Osborne's arbitrary spending surplus is increasingly likely to mean more cuts or tax rises which will hurt the public. His surplus target was a political decision designed to help make him Prime Minister. It has backfired and it is a dereliction of his duty as Chancellor for him to damage our economy for his own ends."

Susan Krammer called on George Osborne to change course: "Rather than playing silly games with the country’s finances he needs to abandon this target and take advantage of the historically low interest rates to find the capital spending in housing and digital infrastructure we desperately need to build an economy fit for the future.”

Osborne's 'secret' £200m cut to police budgets

Despite assurances to protect the Autumn Statement the Chancellor, George Osborne, is secretly slashing police budgets by over £200 million. The independently elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC) will now be forced to raise the additional funds to keep their communities safe by increasing council tax.

Devon and Cornwall police have already put in a request for an increase in local council tax to cover a previous government cuts to the force's budget of £54m a year, with the loss of up to 760 police officers and all 360 community support officers.

Buried deep within a ministerial statement the Government today has finally had to admit that it has cut the funding for the police. Figures released after parliamentary questions also show for example that by 2020 the Nuclear Constabulary, the force guarding vital nuclear power stations, will see a cut in staff of 16%.

Ex-Police Chief, now Liberal Democrat peer, Brian Paddick commenting on the news said: "George Osborne promised that there would be ‘no cuts in the police budget at all’ after intense lobbying from us to protect the police budget. Today it has been confirmed that in reality the police will have to deal with a cut of more than £200 million."

Lord Paddick continued: "The Government have essentially forced independent PCCs to raise the police precept in order to maintain current spending levels. This just goes to show that you cannot trust the Tories to keep their word or protect those that protect us". 

Is Osborne privatising more than Nigel Lawson

According to figures released by Labour from the House of Commons Library, since George Osborne has been Chancellor of the Exchequer he has privatised at least £37.7bn of state assets, and intends to privatise another £20bn of public assets by the end of 2016. The findings come from the OBR figures for net income to the government from the sale of company securities during the period that George Osborne has been Chancellor and last month’s OBR forecasts for the year ahead.

Sales of government securities in the whole of the financial year 2015/16 will total around £30 billion. Of these sales, around £10 billion are already factored into the Osborne £37.7bn total in the table below. Therefore, around £20 billion are yet to be realised. This is more than under any other Chancellor in over 30 years. It is also more than Margaret Thatcher’s Chancellor Nigel Lawson.

Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell, commenting on the figures, said: "These damning figures show that George Osborne isn’t fixing the roof while the sun is shining, he’s trying to sell it and anything that’s not nailed down while he thinks no one’s looking. The Chancellor doesn’t have a real plan for recovery so he’s is simply selling off anything he can lay his hands on to massage the figures, and with the planned sale of the Land Registry he is even selling the ground from under our
feet."

Mr McDonnell continued: "This privatisation of public assets is being done, as in the case of the Royal Mail at a loss to the tax payer, and it’s being driven for ideological and personal ambitions of George Osborne. The problem is the Tories can only sell these assets once, and if there’s not a proper plan to lay the foundations for the economy of the future, then they’ll create a deficit with the future, that the next generation will have to pay down."

Taxpayer loses £1bn as Osborne sells 5.4% of RBS

The government has today begun the process of selling its shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland. It has sold 5.4 per cent of the bank, at a price of 330p per share. Which has raised £2.1bn but when Gordon Brown's government bailed out the bank they paid £1bn, at 500p a share, more than the current government is raising. If the current government sell all shares, the taxpayer own at, 330p then the taxpayer will lose £14bn. The Treasury say that the £2.1 billion raised from the sale will be used to pay down the national debt.

The Treasury also say that the Chancellor, George Osborne, received advice from UK Financial Investments yesterday that it would be appropriate to conduct the first sale of the government’s shareholding in the Royal Bank of Scotland. The Chancellor agreed with that advice and authorised the process to begin. The government say that today marks an important first step in returning the Royal Bank of Scotland to the private sector.

Commenting the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, said: "I can confirm this morning that we have sold 5.4% of the Royal Bank of Scotland, raising £2.1 billion which will be used to pay down the national debt. This is an important first step in returning the bank to private ownership, which is the right thing to do for the taxpayer and for British businesses: it will promote financial stability, lead to a more competitive banking sector, and support the interests of the wider economy. Now is the time for RBS to rebuild itself as a commercial bank, no longer reliant on the state, but serving the working people of Britain."

Mr Osborne continued: "I wasn’t the Chancellor who bailed out RBS; but I am the Chancellor now responsible for doing the right thing for the British economy. So while the easiest thing to do would be to duck the difficult decisions and leave RBS in state hands; the right thing to do for the economy and for taxpayers is to start selling off our stake. So today that’s what we’re doing."

Branding the government's decision as a "fire sale" of RBS shares Shadow Chancellor, Chris Leslie, said: “RBS had to be bailed out urgently, but it doesn’t have to be sold off at the same speed. Labour has always supported the eventual return of RBS to the private sector but taxpayers who bailed out the bank will want their money back and will be suspicious of any fire sale. The Chancellor needs to justify his haste in selling off a chunk of RBS while the bank is still awaiting a US settlement for the mis-selling of sub-prime mortgages."

"Two years ago George Osborne said he would only countenance a sale of RBS when ‘the bank is fully able to support our economy and when we get good value’. Neither of these tests has yet been passed." Mr Leslie added.

Balls letter to Osborne over HSBC "tax evasion"

Please find below the text of a letter sent today by Ed Balls to George Osborne:

Dear George,

It has now been over a week since the full story about tax evasion and HSBC became public. There are a number of questions which you have failed to answer over the last eight days and which cannot continue to be brushed under the carpet:

1. Why has there only been one prosecution out of 1,100 names? Was the “selective prosecution policy” a decision made by Ministers?

Detailed information was passed to this government in May 2010 about 1,100 HSBC clients allegedly guilty of tax evasion or avoidance and yet since then there has been just one prosecution.

In November 2012 a senior HMRC official told The Times that the government had adopted “a selective prosecution policy” towards cases related to HSBC. Later that month HMRC told the Public Accounts Committee that “another dozen” criminal prosecutions were to follow. However, there have been none since.

Given the scale of the alleged wrongdoing, can you explain why only one prosecution has been made and what role Ministers played in deciding on “a selective prosecution policy” for those accused of tax evasion? People would expect you to have been either involved in, or at least aware of, a decision of this seriousness.

Why did the Financial Secretary to the Treasury claim in the House of Commons last week that the government was provided this data “under very strict conditions”, when the French Finance Minister has since suggested otherwise?

2. When were you first made aware of these files, what action did you take and did you discuss it with the Prime Minister?

While a Downing Street spokesperson claimed last week that “no government minister” had any knowledge of what happened at HSBC, the Chief Executive of HMRC has since revealed that Ministers were in fact informed about these files after they were received:

"We are confident we will have told Ministers that we were about to receive a big tranche of operational information," she said. "We will have told people, including Ministers, I suspect some time in the next few months [after the data was received]." Lin Homer, Chief Executive HMRC, Public Accounts Committee, 11 February 2015

When were you and Treasury Ministers first made aware of these files and did you take any action as a result? If not, what were the reasons for this inaction? Did you ever discuss this with the Prime Minister?

3. Why did you and David Cameron appoint Lord Green as a Conservative peer and Minister months after the government received these files?

Lord Stephen Green was Chairman of HSBC 2006-2010 and was appointed a Conservative Peer in September 2010 and then as Trade Minister by David Cameron in January 2011.

This was several months after the government was given information from the French government in May 2010. There had also been extensive public coverage of this investigation since 2010.

For example, on 26 September 2010, the Sunday Telegraph reported that HMRC is investigating more than 200 “extremely wealthy” British taxpayers suspected of tax evasion totalling “many millions of pounds”. It adds that they are “believed to have failed to declare huge sums of interest from private deposit accounts with HSBC’s bank in Switzerland.” (Sunday Telegraph, 26 September 2010)

Why was Lord Green appointed months after the government had this information? Can you provide details of the due diligence carried out by the government in advance of Lord Green’s appointment?

4. Did you and David Cameron discuss tax evasion at HSBC with Lord Green, or did you turn a blind eye? Did you discuss allegations of money laundering at HSBC during Lord Green’s time at HSBC which led to the bank being fined $1.9bn?

Did you or Treasury Ministers ever discuss what happened at HSBC with Lord Green in the almost three years in which he was a Conservative Minister? The Prime Minister failed to answer this question four times in the House of Commons last week.

Did you or Treasury Ministers ever discuss allegations of money laundering at HSBC during Lord Green’s time in charge of the bank, which first became public in July 2012 following an investigation by the US Senate Homeland Security Sub Committee and which led to the bank being fined $1.9bn in December 2012? When were you and Treasury Ministers first made aware of the findings of this inquiry?

If you or your Ministers did not ever raise any of these issues with Lord Green while he was a Minister or before his appointment, would this not be remiss given the scale of wrongdoing which you would have been aware of?

5. Why did you sign a deal with the Swiss authorities in 2012 which prevents the UK from actively obtaining similar information in the future?

The Swiss tax deal, which you heralded in the 2012 Autumn Statement, has not only raised a fraction of the sums promised, it also seems to tie the hands of HMRC and the UK government for the future. The following declaration was made by the Treasury:

Declaration of the United Kingdom concerning the acquisition of customer data stolen from Swiss banks:

The Government of the United Kingdom declares on the occasion of the signing of the Agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Swiss Confederation on cooperation in the area of taxation that it will not actively seek to acquire customer data stolen from Swiss banks

This deal means that the government may never again be able to get hold of the sort of information it received in 2010 about tax evasion and which is at the centre of this scandal. This deal was also made while Lord Green was a Conservative Minister and years after this government was first given information about tax evasion in May 2010.

Why did you sign this declaration and what advice were you given about how it would impede HMRC and the government’s ability to act in the future?
Did Lord Green have any involvement in the Swiss tax deal while he was a Trade Minister and did he ever give any advice to the Treasury on it?

Given the significant public interest in this matter, I am making this letter public. It is notable that you have not given any live broadcast interviews or given a statement in the House of Commons on this issue. However, these questions cannot continue to be ignored and I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Ed Balls

Osborne 'caught out telling the truth' on debates

Comments by the Chancellor George Osborne making clear that all parties with elected MPs should take part in leader debates at the coming Westminster election have been described as getting “caught out telling the truth.”

George Osborne was quoted saying “If you are going to have the minor parties, you have got to have all the minor parties with a presence in Parliament who attract votes at elections." 

Continuing Mr Osborne said: "The Green Party did better than the Liberal Democrats at the last national election, for the European Parliament, and they have got one Member of Parliament. So we are just making a point that, if you are going to have all these parties, you have got to have them all.”

Commenting, SNP Westminster Leader Angus Robertson said: "While the SNP is the third largest party in the UK in terms of membership, current plans would see the party excluded from General Election debates with party leaders. George Osborne has been caught out telling the truth with his remarks. It would be in no way fair or democratic to exclude parties that have far greater membership, support and elected MPs than UKIP from these debates."

"The SNP is not just the third largest party in the UK, we have a larger membership than the LibDems and UKIP combined. It would be ludicrous for the SNP to be shut out of these proposed debates and that is something that should be accepted by all involved." Angus Robertson added.

Updated Charter for Budget Responsibility

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, and Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander have published and laid before Parliament an updated Charter for Budget Responsibility.

The Charter for Budget Responsibility sets out the government’s approach to operating fiscal policy transparently and managing sustainable public finances in the long-term interests of the UK. The purpose of the Charter is to commit the government to reducing the deficit and debt, and to establish transparent arrangements so that it can be held to account for delivering that commitment.

The fiscal mandate in the current Charter for Budget Responsibility was first set in 2010 and reflected the exceptional fiscal challenge the government faced. The mandate targets returning the cyclically-adjusted current budget to balance over a rolling five-year period, supplemented by a target to put debt on a declining path by the end of financial year 2015-16. Since then, the government has made significant progress on its fiscal consolidation.

Public sector net borrowing as a percentage of GDP has fallen by more than a third since 2009-10 and is forecast to have fallen by half by the end of 2014-15. The government is forecast to meet its fiscal mandate 2 years early in 2017‑18, having reduced the cyclically-adjusted current budget deficit from its peak of 4.7% of GDP in 2009-10 to 2.6% of GDP in 2013-14. On the OBR’s central forecast, the cyclically-adjusted current budget will be in surplus by 0.7 per cent of GDP in 2017-18.

At Autumn Statement 2012, the OBR forecast that the target of having debt falling by 2015-16 was likely to be missed. The Chancellor explained to parliament that he would maintain the current fiscal plan, rather than change plan to meet the target. At each fiscal event since, the OBR has passed a similar judgement. Indeed, they forecast that debt is likely to be falling one year later in 2016-17. This demonstrates that the Charter and its targets have been an effective tool at publicly holding the government to account.

The current fiscal mandate will lapse at the end of this parliament and so The Autumn Statement 2014 update presents a new fiscal framework, following a review by the Government.

The updated Charter commits the coalition government to two objectives:

• The fiscal mandate will now target returning the cyclically-adjusted current budget to balance over a three year rolling horizon. At Budget 2015, therefore, the target year for the fiscal mandate will be 2017-18. This reflects the progress that has been achieved in tackling the deficit, which means that the mandate can be safely shortened to create a tighter constraint on future fiscal policy choices.
• The revised Charter for Budget Responsibility sets a new supplementary target for debt to be falling as a percentage of GDP in 2016-17. The OBR forecast that PSND will peak in 2015-16 at 81.1% of GDP.

A debate and vote on the Charter will be scheduled in the House of Commons for early in the New Year.

Meeting the fiscal mandate and putting debt on declining path will require further difficult decisions to be made by government. The government has set out detailed spending plans for 2015-16. Choices will need to be made about the composition of further consolidation beyond 2015-16. In order to meet the fiscal mandate and supplementary debt target set out in the updated Charter the government estimates that on current forecasts around £30 billion of discretionary consolidation is likely to be required over the following two years 2016-17 and 2017-18.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne said: "Thanks to our long term economic plan, we will have halved the deficit by the end of this parliament. I have always been clear that more tough choices will need to be made in the next parliament to eliminate the deficit and get debt falling. This Charter entrenches the commitment to finish the job and maintain economic stability.”

Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander said: "Our country entered the financial crisis and recession with the largest structural deficit of any major economy. Thanks to the difficult decisions that we’ve taken, we have taken a giant leap towards eliminating our structural deficit and setting debt on a declining path. By updating the Charter today, we set out what it means to finish that job, which is crucial for creating a stronger economy, and fairer society".

Shadow Chancellor, Ed Balls, responding to publication of the Charter for Budget Responsibility, said: "Once again, a silly political stunt by George Osborne has totally backfired. David Cameron has just given a speech attacking Labour's target to get the current budget into surplus. But this is exactly what they are putting to a vote in this new Charter. In the Budget George Osborne talked about a vote on balancing the overall budget. Today he and David Cameron have done a staggering U-turn on this vote and are now proposing a vote on the current budget, excluding capital investment. This is the same measure of the deficit the Labour Party has been committed to targeting for the last three years. They have also changed the fiscal mandate from being a 'target' to an 'aim'. We said in January that we want to get the current budget into surplus and national debt falling as soon as possible in the next Parliament. This Charter is consistent with our position so we'll vote for it. We're not going to change our view about what's in Britain's best interests because of one of George Osborne's silly games."

Continuing Mr Balls said: "Labour will cut the deficit every year and get the current budget into surplus, and the national debt falling, as soon as possible in the next Parliament. How fast we can go will depend on the state of the economy, including what happens to wages, growth, the housing benefit bill and events around the world. But our approach will be very different to the Tories. There will need to be sensible spending cuts in non-protected areas, but we will make fairer choices including reversing the Tory tax cut for millionaires and our plan will deliver the rising living standards and stronger growth needed to balance the books. In contrast the Tories are pursuing an increasingly unbalanced and extreme approach. They have chosen to pencil in even deeper spending cuts, which would return public spending to a share of GDP last seen in the 1930s."

"They are refusing to ask those with the broadest shoulders to make a greater contribution and ignoring the need for a plan to deliver the rising living standards that are vital to getting the deficit down. And they have now made £7 billion of unfunded tax promises, which can only be paid for by even deeper cuts to public spending or another Tory VAT rise. This is a complete own goal for the Chancellor. Perhaps George Osborne should spend less time thinking up silly political games which end up backfiring and more time sorting out the economy and trying to make his sums add up." Ed Balls added.

Report reveals we are not ‘all in it together’

A wide-ranging report by economists on how Coalition economic policies have helped the rich by hitting the poor and rubbishes Chancellor George Osborne’s claims that we are “all in it together” says the Green Party who are committed to radically rebalancing the economy so that it works for the common good and creates a fairer and more sustainable society.

The report released this morning (17th November) reveals how money has been transferred from the poorest to the better off under the Coalition. Green Party policies such as a wealth tax on the top 1%, a £10 minimum wage, a Living Wage for all and maximum pay ratios tackle inequality head on.

Under Osborne, those with the lowest incomes have been hit hardest say the economists from the London School of Economics and the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex.

Natalie Bennett, Green Party Leader, said: "This report once again goes to prove that Osborne’s ideologically-driven austerity economics are simply not working. Osbornomics is intent on dividing up the pie so that the wealthiest are given the biggest slices. This is hardly the way towards a fairer and more equal society. The Green Party says this agenda has to come to an end."

"Instead of victimizing those who are most in need through pernicious welfare reforms, we need to slash the size of the financial sector and see that it serves the needs of a boosted real economy that manufactures the goods and grows the food that we need, providing jobs that workers can live on, and homes they can afford. That would also reduce our exposure to the international economic, political and military turbulence." Ms Bennett added.

Osborne plans further cuts of £30bn

The news in the Guardian today that George Osborne is drawing up a hitlist of £30bn of further cuts shows what the Tories have in store for Scotland after the next election - and demonstrates why control over the economy and spending should be in Scotland's hands rather than Westminster's.

As reported today, the plans for further cuts are said to have left even some Cabinet ministers 'aghast' - with some feeling that the extent of the new cuts are not justified. This follows on from yesterday's revelations in the Financial Times that the level of cuts the Tories have planned are set to be around double what was previously stated - from £25bn to £48bn.

Commenting, SNP Treasury spokesperson Stewart Hosie said: "Westminster's austerity agenda has already caused real harm to Scotland's economy and has pushed even more people into poverty - the idea that George Osborne is plotting a further £30bn of cuts will send a chill down the spines of communities across the country. That even UK government ministers - who have presided over substantial cuts - are said to be 'aghast' at the level of these new cuts should make clear the extent of what George Osborne has in store for our vital public services."

Continuing Mr Hosie said: "Yesterday we found out that the levels of cuts planned is set to double - and with Labour under Ed Miliband and Ed Balls also signed up to substantial cuts after the next election, it's clear that the entire Westminster establishment is intent on carrying on with the economic madness of austerity regardless of the consequences. That's exactly why key economic powers should be transferred to Scotland rather than being held by a Westminster establishment obsessed with austerity - allowing us to invest in our public services, create jobs and protect the most vulnerable people in society."

"The Westminster parties promised these extensive economic powers in their vow to the people of Scotland. They simply must deliver - or they will pay a heavy price at the ballot box." Stewart Hosie added.

Cap will help fight exploitative payday lending

The cap on the total cost of credit is an important step towards protecting consumers from the debt trap of excessive interest rates and charges, says Citizens Advice. Today, the Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates payday lenders, has announced a 100 per cent cap of the total cost of credit, meaning that from January no borrower will have to pay back more than double their original loan.

Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of national charity Citizens Advice said: "This cap means payday lenders can no longer force borrowers into an endless spiral of debt. This is a real improvement. People have sought help from Citizens Advice after their payday loan of £300 ballooned to over £2,500 worth of debt. The cap will help to stop these serious cases in which sky high interest and extortionate fees turn a small loan into an unmanageable debt."

"The FCA should monitor the cap, including whether it is set at the right level, to make sure it is working for consumers. They must also keep a close eye on whether lenders are sticking to the rules. Problems with high cost credit go well beyond payday loans. We’re concerned about the serious problems people are reporting with products like logbook and guarantor loans. As the new rules force payday lenders to treat customers more fairly, these other areas must be given more attention."

Every working day Citizens Advice Bureaux help with 100 new problems caused by payday loans. Analysis of 30,000 of the most serious debt cases found that young people were more likely use short term credit than other kinds of borrowing. Sixty two per cent of 17-25 year olds who use high cost credit and have come to Citizens Advice with a debt problem used payday loans.

Between April and August this year, Citizens Advice payday loans tracker found that:

• 19% of people were told how to get free debt advice
• 26% were treated sympathetically by their payday lender if they ran into difficulty
• 22% were made aware of the risks of extending a loan

Just half were asked any questions about their finances before being given a loan. Earlier this year, our Freedom of Information request to the HM Courts and Tribunals Service showed that the number of logbook loans taken out this year was on track to reach 60,000, up 61% from 2011. This is based on 10,000 loans registered with the courts service in January and February this year.

Commenting Chancellor George Osborne said: "We created a powerful new consumer regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), to regulate the payday lending industry and legislated to require the FCA to introduce a cap on the cost of payday loans. The FCA has now confirmed the cap on the total cost of payday loans – not just the interest rate, but also the arrangement fees as well as the penalty fees – that will come into force in the New Year. This is all part of our long term economic plan to have a banking system that works for hardworking people and make sure some of the absolutely outrageous fees and unacceptable practices are dealt with."

Manchester to get directly elected Mayor

Greater Manchester is to get its own directly elected city wide mayor with powers over transport, housing, planning and policing, Chancellor George Osborne announced today. The measure is the latest initiative in the Chancellor’s plan to create a Northern Powerhouse to maximise the economic potential of the north. The proposals also include devolving further powers to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority including over support for business growth, skills and help to join up health and social care budgets.

Taken together the plans represent a comprehensive package of powers for Greater Manchester. The government believes this will create a powerful devolved administration with strong political leadership that can drive through policy to stimulate economic growth and plan strategically across the city, as well as nationally and internationally. The government hopes that Manchester will be the first of many big cities to take advantage of greater devolution of powers.

Chancellor George Osborne said: "This is a massive moment for the north of England and our plan to build the Northern Powerhouse. After several months of private discussions with local representatives from all three parties, I have reached agreement with the civic leaders of Greater Manchester to create the first metro-wide elected mayor outside of London. This will give Mancunians a powerful voice and bring practical improvements for local people, with better transport links, an Oyster-style travelcard, and more investment in skills and the city's economy.

“I want to talk to other cities who are keen to follow Manchester's lead - every city is different, and no model of local power will be the same. The Northern Powerhouse is becoming a reality. We plan to make major investments in northern transport and science, now we have agreement on the first metro area Mayor. This is what we've achieved in just a few months. Giving cities power is part of our long term economic plan to reduce the decades-old gap between north and south, London and the rest.”

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said: “This landmark agreement shows how serious we are about moving powers out of Whitehall and reinforces the significant authority and finance already given to local communities. It is an important step in our continuing work to decentralise, to increase local democracy, bring better services and deliver more homes and jobs. Greater power for local government must always come with greater local accountability so people can challenge their council to do better and hold them to account about services they provide.”

Lord Peter Smith, chair of GMCA, said: “Make no mistake, this devolution settlement is a momentous moment for Greater Manchester. It gives us greater control over own destiny in several key areas and the ability to base decisions on local priorities and needs rather than on ‘one size fits all’ dictates from Westminster. This isn’t about taking powers from individual Greater Manchester authorities. It’s about powers coming down from central government to a more localised level.”

A new, directly elected Mayor of Greater Manchester will receive the following powers:

• Control of a £300 million Housing Investment Fund.
• Powers over strategic planning, including the power to create a statutory spatial framework for Greater Manchester. This will need to be approved by a unanimous vote of the Mayor’s Cabinet.
• Responsibility for a devolved and consolidated transport budget, with a multi-year settlement to be agreed at the next Spending Review, and responsibility for franchised bus services (subject to consultation by Greater Manchester), and for integrated smart ticketing across all local modes of transport.
• Control of a reformed earn back deal, within the current envelope of £30 million a year for 30 years – this gives Greater Manchester the certainty they need to extend the Metrolink to Trafford Park.
• Take on the role currently covered by the Police and Crime Commissioner.

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority will receive the following powers:

• Responsibility for securing integrated business support services, including through the Growth Accelerator, Manufacturing Advice Service and UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) Export Advice.
• Control of the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers in Greater Manchester and power to re-shape and re-structure the Further Education (FE) provision within Greater Manchester.
• Control of an expanded Working Well pilot, with central government funding linked to good performance up to a fixed DEL limit in return for risk sharing.
• Opportunity to be a joint commissioner with Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for the next phase of the Work Programme.
• The GMCA and Greater Manchester Clinical Commissioning Groups will be invited to develop a business plan for the integration of health and social care across Greater Manchester, based on control of existing health and social care budgets.

The Mayor for Greater Manchester will differ from current mayoralties in that the powers are greater and control extends over more than one local authority area. The government will now prepare legislation to enable these changes with the potential for the Mayoral election to take place in 2017.

The plans are the latest in a series of initiatives to build the Northern Powerhouse:

• Last week, the Chancellor announced plans to develop HS3, a new high speed rail link designed to address the poor east-west transport links in the North.
• In August, the Chancellor announced ambitious plans for a potential major new National Institute for Materials Research and Innovation in the north of England and a £60 million Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC) in Manchester. Both projects will capitalise on the North’s expertise in cutting edge materials research and development and give the North a global head start in this fast expanding industry.

Cathedrals secure £8m for repairs as part of First World War Centenary Fund

Cathedrals across England will receive over £8million for urgent repairs in the second round of grants from the First World War (FWW) Centenary Cathedral Repair Fund, Culture Secretary Sajid Javid announced today. From Arundel to York, 31 cathedrals across England will now be able to fix leaking roofs, repair stained glass windows and spires, and carry out many other important works, making the total number of cathedrals receiving funding through the programme 41.

The fund was announced in Budget 2014, and set up in April this year in recognition of the powerful symbol our cathedrals are of Britain's shared history, as well as the significant role they will play throughout the commemorations of the centenary of the First World War.

Visiting Portsmouth Cathedral which is to receive nearly £600,000, Culture Secretary Sajid Javid, who also leads the Government's FWW Centenary programme, said: "Our heritage in this country is precious and unique. We need to do all we can to protect it for future generations. This second round of grants will ensure that even more of our magnificent and awe-inspiring cathedrals can complete urgent and much needed repairs, so they can continue to play a huge role in the communities they serve. Our places of worship are also playing a huge part in all our plans to commemorate the centenary of the First World War, and this Fund is helping to ensure they can fulfil this role to remember those who gave so much for us so many years ago."

Chancellor of the Exchequer ,George Osborne, said: "Many Britons will have visited a cathedral this summer to attend a remembrance service marking the Great War, and this £8m grant, part of £20m I announced at the last Budget, will ensure that these beautiful and historic buildings remain much loved places of worship and remembrance for another century to come. Our great cathedrals are the envy of the world, bringing many tourists to the cities of UK, so this investment is also great value for taxpayers."

Sir Paul Ruddock, Chair of the First World War Centenary Cathedral Repairs Fund expert panel and Chairman of the Victoria & Albert Museum, said: "The appeal of cathedrals is vast and enduring. Every part of English history can be seen somewhere within their walls, and I am delighted that this second round of grant is providing vital support to keep them open for all to enjoy."

The £20million Cathedral Repairs Fund was announced by the Chancellor in the Budget 2014. Grants will allow cathedrals to undertake urgent repair work, including keeping the building wind-proof, weather-tight, safe and open to the public, and preventing further deterioration of the building. This is the second round of funding allocations and will be followed by one more. The final round will close in January 2015.

Cameron and Osborne back HS3

As part of the Coalition's "long term economic plan" for the north, the Prime Minister and Chancellor today gave their backing to develop HS3 - a high speed rail link connecting the north's great cities which could significantly reduce journey times across the region.

The Prime Minister and the Chancellor were responding to a report published by HS2 Chairman Sir David Higgins which sets out proposals for how to maximise the benefits of HS2 in the north and how transport links can be improved in the north of England more widely. In the report, Sir David identifies the vital importance of improving east west connectivity across the north and considers the central role a high speed rail link could play. He concludes that with a high speed link the journey time between Leeds and Manchester could be cut from around 55 to between 26 and 34 minutes.

The Prime Minister and the Chancellor have also welcomed Sir David Higgins' recommendation that co-operation on transport issues should be formalised in the north. In response the Chancellor announced the creation of a new body called Transport for the North made up of the main northern city regions. This body will work together with other authorities and stakeholders and allow the north to speak with one voice on the big decisions to benefit the region as a whole.

The Government, working with Transport for the North, will now produce a comprehensive transport strategy for the region. This will include options, costs and a delivery timetable for a HS3 east west rail connection. An interim report will be produced next March.

By combining the strengths of the north's great cities, the Government believes that the proposals will help transform the economy of the north of England and play a key role in delivering a Northern Powerhouse.

The Government is also launching a review into the costs and time it takes to build high speed rail, drawing on international experience to find ways to bring down the costs of Phase Two and future high speed rail projects.

The report from Sir David Higgins also gives strong backing to the case for Phase Two of HS2 and sets out proposals to maximise its benefits. His proposals include bringing forward plans for a hub station at Crewe to 2027 and a fundamental review of the right solution for Leeds station to allow connections between HS2, existing rail services and improved east west connections. The Government will set out its detailed plans for Phase Two in 2015.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: "Improving connectivity and reducing journey times between our great northern cities is a crucial part of our long term economic plan for the north to boost businesses and create more jobs and security for hardworking people. That's why we are backing HS3. I welcome Sir David Higgins' report which will help our work to create a Northern Powerhouse and ensure that HS2 delivers the maximum economic benefits."

Chancellor George Osborne said: "The vision I set out earlier this year of the Northern Powerhouse we could build is rapidly taking shape. I asked Sir David Higgins to look at how we deliver the better transport links across the north that would make a reality of that powerhouse. I'm delighted with the rapid response and the report. Today we take another big step forward in delivering both the HS2 links from north to south and the HS3 link across the Pennines. On the back of new transport infrastructure, science investment and civic leadership we are well on our way to turning the Northern Powerhouse into reality."

Responding Shadow Transport Secretary, Mary Creagh , said: "Labour supports high-speed rail to tackle commuter overcrowding and to improve connections between cities in the north and Midlands and London. We have repeatedly said we need value for money for the taxpayer and to improve the existing plans to maximise the benefits for the whole country.

"Hard-pressed travellers in the north will judge David Cameron on his actions, not words. Under his Tory-led Government rail fares have risen recently by up to 162 per cent for northern rail passengers, and there are plans to cut vital east-west services from Cleethorpes, Grimsby and Scunthorpe to Manchester. Only a Labour government will cap rail fares, legislate for a public sector operator, devolve the running of regional and local services and deliver a railway which puts passengers first."

Osborne announces £150m for clinical research

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, today announced a £150 million investment in the UK’s clinical research infrastructure. The Chancellor announced the funding, while visiting the University of Exeter, which is home to one of 23 key projects that will benefit from this funding at centres located around the country.

The Treasury has worked with the Department of Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) to allocate £150m of funding to the Medical Research Council’s (MRC) Clinical Research Capital Initiative. This money adds to the £80m funding also pledged to the initiative by the MRC, devolved authorities, universities, and charities, bringing the total capital to over £230 million.

The investment presents a unique opportunity to enhance the UK’s clinical research capabilities and will focus particularly on developing ground breaking technologies and experimental medicines. Examples of the projects benefiting from the investment include:

• The institute of Cancer Research hoping to revolutionise radiation treatment by targeting tumours more accurately;
• The team made up from seven of our top universities who are working together to advance the next frontier on molecular biology, single-cell genomics; and, 
• The teams from the University of Leeds and York who are pioneering the SABRE imaging method to increase the signal of an MRI image up to 100,000 times. 

The work of these and the other 23 projects will help in identifying the causes of conditions and diseases such as cancer and dementia, and dramatically speeding up diagnosis and treatment.

Commenting Chancellor George Osborne said: "The UK is already a world leader in science and research, which is why at the Budget, I protected science spending. Today we go a step further by announcing £150 million of new investment in clinical research infrastructure. The funding will go to 23 truly innovative projects from across the UK today that represent the best of British ingenuity and scientific exploration. The Government, charities, universities and industry will be working together to advance our knowledge in combatting the biggest medical challenges of our time. "

Life Sciences Minister George Freeman said: "We want to make the UK the best place in the world for life sciences. Building on our existing research infrastructure this investment will speed up the innovation of experimental medicine, strengthen partnerships with industry and charities and boost our economic growth in this exciting sector."

Professor Sir John Savill, Chief Executive of the Medical Research Council, said: "The Government entrusted £150 million of funding to this initiative. With generous contributions from Arthritis Research UK, the British Heart Foundation and other partners, we have been able to invest over £230 million in a collaboration that will catalyse innovation and advance our knowledge in completely new areas of research."

Leslie writes to Osborne for clarification on how the Tories will fund their "unfunded tax cuts"

Chris Leslie MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, has written to George Osborne to ask him to urgently clarify how the Prime Minister’s unfunded tax commitments will be paid for:

"Dear George

You will be aware of the confusion that has followed the Prime Minister’s promises of unfunded tax commitments after his speech to your conference on Wednesday. I am writing to ask that you urgently clarify how these promises will be funded and paid for.

On Thursday Grant Shapps was asked by Jo Coburn on the BBC Daily Politics “are you ruling out a rise in VAT?” and he replied “Well I have absolutely no intention of writing future Budgets on your programme”.

Yet in today’s Sunday Express newspaper when asked whether any tax promises would be funded by other tax rises Mr Shapps is quoted as saying: “We won’t do it. Ain’t gonna happen. Our income tax cuts will not, repeat not, be funded by hiking other taxes.”

Can you clarify what your position is on this? Are you also promising that there will be no changes to VAT or ‘other taxes’ in the next Parliament? I understand that you have accepted that the costing of the Prime Minister’s tax promises amounts to more than £7billion - so can you now set out where the money will come from to pay for these? Can you confirm that this is the equivalent of raising VAT to around 21.5%? Or do you intend to add this to your future borrowing plans?

The Prime Minister himself said before the last election, “you can’t talk about tax reduction unless you can show how it is paid for, the public aren’t stupid”. And you said yourself in November 2008 that “real tax cuts are funded, real tax cuts you show how you are going to pay for them. Where you have unfunded tax cuts they are tax con and that is the dividing line in British politics.”

What has changed? Five days on from the Prime Minister’s speech and not one Minister has been able to tell us where a single penny of the money to pay for these promises will come from.

In particular, can you categorically rule out raising VAT on families and pensioners again in the next Parliament? The Conservatives have a track-record of raising VAT after elections, despite claiming beforehand that you have no plans to do so.

You will therefore understand why, until you set out where the £7 billion is coming from, people will judge you on your track record of hitting working people while giving tax cuts to millionaires.

If it’s not VAT, where is the money going to come from - and which families and public services will pay the price?

I’m sure you will want to clarify this matter at the earliest opportunity and given the public interest in this matter I will be making this letter available to the media. I look forward to hearing from you shortly.


Yours sincerely


Chris Leslie"

Osborne's pay cuts leading to strikes next month

George Osborne's commitment to cutting public sector pay, confirmed in his Conservative party conference speech, has sparked a fresh wave of strike action, the Public and Commercial Services union says.

Up to a quarter of a million civil servants will be on strike on Wednesday 15 October, co-ordinated with other public sector walkouts that week. The strikes come ahead of the TUC's 'Britain Needs a Pay Rise' demonstrations in London and Glasgow on Saturday 18 October. Public servants' wages were frozen for two years after 2010 and subsequently capped at 1%. Added to the increase in monthly pension contributions and the effects of inflation, this means many civil servants will have suffered a 20% cut in their incomes by next year.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: "George Osborne's government, propped up by the Lib Dems, has slashed the living standards of public servants while the super rich have been rewarded with tax cuts. Days after voting for air strikes on Iraq likely to cost billions of pounds, politicians of all parties continue to peddle the myth that there is not enough money around to pay civil servants, nurses or teachers."

George Osborne: Choose the future

In his conference speech today, George Osborne set out the choice at the next election between David Cameron and the Conservatives who have answers to the big questions about Britain's future, or Ed Miliband and the Labour Party who would repeat the mistakes of the past.

George Osborne said: "I believe it is perfectly possible for Britain to be the most prosperous major country on earth. The most prosperous, the most dynamic, the most creative. But only if we, in our generation, provide the big answers to the big questions. Only if we choose the future not the past."

He also set out the next steps in the Conservatives' plan to eliminate the deficit and run a surplus in the next parliament:

• The Conservatives will freeze working age benefits from April 2016 for two years. This will save £3.2 billion a year by 2017/18. Disability, carer and pensioner benefits are excluded, as are several smaller benefits such as statutory maternity pay.

George Osborne said: "Working age benefits in Britain will have to be frozen for two years. This is the choice Britain needs to take to protect our economic stability and to secure a better future. The fairest way to reduce welfare bills is to make sure that benefits are not rising faster than the wages of the taxpayers who are paying for them. For we will provide a welfare system that is fair to those who need it, and fair to those who pay for it too."

• In the Autumn Statement the Treasury will end abuse by multinationals who divert profits offshore in order to avoid corporation tax. This will raise hundreds of millions of pounds as part of an anti-avoidance package raising billions of pounds over the next Parliament. This change will mainly affect multinationals using artificial arrangements to route profits to tax havens that would otherwise have been taxed in the UK. New anti-avoidance measures will dramatically reduce the benefits from complex arrangements such as the so-called "double Irish" used by some large multinationals, particularly in the technology sector. This measure comes after the progress made at the G20 and the OECD by the international "Base Erosion and Profit Shifting" (BEPS) project in which the UK has played a leading role.

George Osborne said: "While we offer some of the lowest business taxes in the world, we expect those taxes to be paid - not avoided. Some technology companies go to extraordinary lengths to pay little or no tax here. If you abuse our tax system, you abuse the trust of the British people. And my message to those companies is clear: we will put a stop to it. Low taxes, but low taxes that are paid. Part of our effort to reduce our deficit. For our choice is that we are all in this together."

The Chancellor also confirmed that:

• This Government will abolish the punitive 55 per cent tax on death that is charged when people pass on a pension pot. The measure will apply to all payments made from April 2015, and means that people who have worked hard and saved all their lives will be able to pass on their hard-earned pension pot tax-free.
• The Conservatives will abolish long term youth unemployment. We will deliver three million apprenticeships over the next Parliament. On top of that, if a young person has been unemployed for six months they will have to take an apprenticeship, training, or work for their benefits. Our plans will give hundreds of thousands of young people the opportunity of a better, more secure future. And we will pay for it by cutting the benefit cap and stopping most young people from claiming Housing Benefit.

Chris Leslie MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, commenting on George Osborne’s speech to the Conservative Party Annual Conference, said: "Having failed to balance the books in this Parliament George Osborne has made his choice. He is choosing to give the richest one per cent a £3 billion-a-year tax cut and opposing a mansion tax while cutting tax credits which make work pay for millions of striving families. While working people have seen their wages fall by £1600 a year since 2010, the Tories have once again shown they are the party of a privileged few at the top."

Talking about Labour's plans, Mr Leslie commented: "Labour will balance the books as soon as possible in the next Parliament, but we will do so in a fairer way. We will reverse the Tory tax cut for millionaires, stop paying the winter fuel allowance to the richest five per cent of pensioners and cap child benefit rises at one per cent for two years."

Greens accuse George Osborne of 'shameless partisanship' in favour of high finance

To coincide with the next round of George Osborne's legal challenge to EU controls on the worst excesses of the City bonus culture, Molly Scott Cato, Green MEP for South West England and a member of the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, has launched a stinging attack on the UK Chancellor.

Ms Scott Cato said: "In the wake of the most serious banking crisis for a century it is of deep concern to see the Chancellor resisting democratically agreed and entirely common-sense proposals to make banking less risky and to challenge the culture of excessive pay in Europe's financial services sector. The special treatment that Osborne has shown to the wealthy in general and financiers in particular is becoming almost legendary but this puts us all of risk of further financial instability and risk-taking for which we will be asked to pick up the tab."

The Green Party has long been critical of the moral hazard represented by the payment of large bonuses, which reward risk-taking by bank executives but leave the costs to be borne by the public when the deals go bad.

Her Green Group colleague Sven Giegold commented: "If you run to the court because you have lost the democratic argument, it’s a sign of the weakness of your argument. Nobody can deny that the bonus culture has contributed to the harm we have seen all over the world and, ironically, particularly in Britain. Osborne is wrong to suggest that the EU Parliament is acting beyond its competence. Although we have no general competence to regulate pay we do have the power to use regulation to protect financial stability and that is the purpose of the bonus cap."

The fight for the EU Cap on Bankers' Bonuses was led by Green MEPs Philippe Lamberts and Sven Giegold. It prohibits the payment of a bonus in excess of 100% of fixed pay. It will come into operation next year when it will apply to performance during 2014.

Cameron & Osborne welcome £36bn infrastructure projects

The Prime Minister, David Cameron, and the Chancellor, George Osborne, will visit a transport infrastructure project in the East Midlands today to see action the Government is taking to help hardworking people and back businesses with better infrastructure being delivered on the ground.

They will highlight that, as part of this Government's long-term economic plan to help Britain succeed, more than 200 projects in rail, road, local transport, flood defences, broadband, airport infrastructure and waste management are due to start construction in 2014/2015. These include the Mersey Gateway Bridge, Sheffield Lower Don Valley and Exeter flood defence schemes and the A1 Barton to Leeming motorway upgrade, which will reduce journey times by 20 per cent.

More than 200 infrastructure projects are also due to be completed this year, including major roads such as the M6 J10A-13, Nottingham tram extension, Heathrow Terminal 2 upgrade and Gwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm, which is currently the largest in construction anywhere in Europe.

The projects due to start construction this year are part of £36bn of planned investment - £5bn public investment, £21bn private investment and £10bn in joint public and private investment - in infrastructure across the country that could support over 150,000 jobs in construction and many thousands more in other sectors following completion. This includes the start of a £38 billion programme of rail spending over the next five years. In addition, there is expected to be further investment of up to £15bn in oil and gas this year.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: "Ensuring Britain has first class infrastructure is a crucial part of our long term economic plan: supporting business, creating jobs and providing a better future for hardworking people. As a crucial part of our long-term economic plan, this Government is backing business with better infrastructure so that more jobs and opportunities are created for hardworking people, meaning more financial security and peace of mind for families."

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said: "As part of our long term economic plan we are investing in infrastructure around the country to create a more balanced, resilient economy. Because of the tough decisions we have taken in day to day spending, we can prioritise public investment where it is most needed and create the right conditions for private investment in infrastructure where it brings value for the taxpayer. So this year over 200 new projects worth an estimated £36 billion are due to start, creating thousands of jobs, securing future growth and delivering the world class infrastructure Britain deserves."

Throughout this parliament, the Government has made "tough decisions" on day-to-day spending that the Governmenrt says has enabled the prioritisation of vital capital investment. In June 2013 the Government built on this approach by setting out a further commitment to invest in over £100 billion of capital in specific projects in the next parliament, including providing long-term funding settlements in key infrastructure sectors.

The Government has also taken action to unlock and stimulate private sector investment, which is expected to make up the majority of UK infrastructure investment between now and the end of the decade. This has included setting out a plan to generate a wave of new investment in our energy infrastructure through the biggest change to the electricity market since privatisation, and the provision of up to £40 billion of support for critical infrastructure projects through the UK Guarantees Scheme.