22/10/2010

Spending Review Warning Is 'Nonsense', Says Clegg

While a poll suggests voters are divided on the Chancellor's spending cuts, the Deputy Prime Minister has described spending review warnings as "complete nonsense".

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said the £81bn of cuts unveiled in the spending review would hit the poorest the hardest.

Commenting to the Guardian, Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg said the coalition "fundamentally" disagreed with the ISF, and stated it had "airbrushed" out vitals details.

He said: "It is a complete nonsense to apply that measure, which is a slightly desiccated Treasury measure.

"People do not live only on the basis of the benefits they receive.

"They also depend on public services, such as childcare and social care."

The comments come as the review receives support from Rupert Murdoch, Chairman and Chief Executive of News Corporation, who encouraged the Government to "stay the political course".

However a YouGov poll for The Sun newspaper has reported that most people are divided over how the cuts will benefit the economy.

41%, of the 1,874 people polled, said the cuts would be good, while another 41% felt the opposite.

Overall 58% of voters thought there was no alternative to the spending review, with 29% saying it was avoidable.

The same poll put voter intentions for the Conservatives at 41%, Labour at 40% and the Liberal Democrats at 10% - their lowest level since 2003.

(BMcN/GK)

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