Britain: Civil service plans 20 percent “doomsday” cuts in public spending

[Hannah Bell]

The July 5 Sunday Times reports what it describes as “Secret ‘doomsday’ plans for 20% cuts in public spending” being prepared by senior civil servants.

The Times writes of “detailed dossiers” outlining cuts that are “far deeper than the more modest savings being proposed by Labour and Conservative politicians.”

Both parties are reportedly under criticism by civil service mandarins for underplaying the scale of cuts demanded by a “prolonged recession and a collapse in tax revenue,” with even the Conservative’s pledge to make cuts of 10 percent viewed as inadequate in the face of a £175 billion budget deficit.

“The dossiers will be handed to cabinet ministers the day after the next general election, whichever party wins,” the Times states. “The final ‘doomsday’ reports will be written up only in the three weeks before the general election to reduce the risk of leaks. The documents will be colour-coded: blue paper for a Conservative victory, red for Labour and yellow for a hung parliament with the Liberal Democrats holding the balance of power.”

Coinciding with the Times report, Steve Bundred, chief executive of the Audit Commission, wrote in the Observer that a pay freeze should be imposed on Britain’s six million public-sector workers. He also accused party leaders of not being honest about the need for cuts, even in health and education.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/jul2009/cuts-j09.shtml

[notesdev]

1. Doomsday for the civil service

"the new reality" for the rest of us

Funny, they weren't calling it doomsday when all these shenanigans were sucking 40% out of peoples' retirement accounts.