ianstone
09-09-2010, 06:08 PM
An Extra £4bn To Be Cut From Welfare Budget
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8:55pm UK, Thursday September 09, 2010
Miranda Richardson and Ruth Barnett, Sky News Online
An extra £4bn will be slashed from the welfare budget, Chancellor George Osborne has said.The cut is on top of an £11bn reduction made in June's Budget and will be funded by a crack down on people who see claiming out-of-work benefits as a "lifestyle choice".
The announcement was made following a speech by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg about the need for "painful cuts" to ensure a fairer future.
However, two Lib Dem MPs pledged to oppose the welfare cut and accused Mr Osborne of failing to consult the Tories' coalition partners.
Mike Hancock said it would go "right to the heart" of the benefits system and hit the poorest - and joined Bob Russell in saying he would vote against any such measure.
In his speech, [URL="http://www.nickclegg.com/home.aspx"]Mr Clegg (http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Politics/George-Osborne-Announces-Extra-4bn-Cut-To-Welfare-Budget/Article/201009215723404?lpos=Politics_Second_UK_News_Artic le_Teaser_Region_3&lid=ARTICLE_15723404_George_Osborne_Announces_Extr a_%3F4bn_Cut_To_Wel#comments) said: "The truth is that real reform - of public services, of our political system, of our economic system - takes many years of patient execution of a strategy.
http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2010/Sep/Week2/15721132.jpg Clegg will attack last government
"We know that decisions taken for the long-term are, in the short-run, difficult, painful or unpopular - or all three."
The Deputy Prime Minister said it was it was vital the Government focuses more on the next generation instead of immediate needs.
He also suggested individuals were also struggling to balance preparing for the future with short-term indulgences in their own lives.
"Temptation is part of the human condition," he said, "but the question is whether our capacity to balance the immediate with the long-term is keeping pace with the expansion of choice."
http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2010/Sep/Week2/15723959.jpg
The Deputy PM added: "In real life, people eat donuts, decide not to go for a run, and put off making payments into their pension fund.
"The economists say this means we are engaged in an 'irrational discounting of time'. The rest of us describe it as being human."
However the Deputy Prime Minister appeared to soften the Government's rhetoric by
stressing that departmental reductions of up to 25% would be staggered over four years.
Although people were understandably anxious, they should not feel there was a "sword of Damocles" that would fall overnight, he added.
Sky's political correspondent Niall Paterson (http://twitter.com/niallpaterson) said the speech sounded more like a lecture.
"He is justifying taking severe cuts at the moment so that future generations are not unduly burdoned," Paterson added
[/URL]
8:55pm UK, Thursday September 09, 2010
Miranda Richardson and Ruth Barnett, Sky News Online
An extra £4bn will be slashed from the welfare budget, Chancellor George Osborne has said.The cut is on top of an £11bn reduction made in June's Budget and will be funded by a crack down on people who see claiming out-of-work benefits as a "lifestyle choice".
The announcement was made following a speech by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg about the need for "painful cuts" to ensure a fairer future.
However, two Lib Dem MPs pledged to oppose the welfare cut and accused Mr Osborne of failing to consult the Tories' coalition partners.
Mike Hancock said it would go "right to the heart" of the benefits system and hit the poorest - and joined Bob Russell in saying he would vote against any such measure.
In his speech, [URL="http://www.nickclegg.com/home.aspx"]Mr Clegg (http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Politics/George-Osborne-Announces-Extra-4bn-Cut-To-Welfare-Budget/Article/201009215723404?lpos=Politics_Second_UK_News_Artic le_Teaser_Region_3&lid=ARTICLE_15723404_George_Osborne_Announces_Extr a_%3F4bn_Cut_To_Wel#comments) said: "The truth is that real reform - of public services, of our political system, of our economic system - takes many years of patient execution of a strategy.
http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2010/Sep/Week2/15721132.jpg Clegg will attack last government
"We know that decisions taken for the long-term are, in the short-run, difficult, painful or unpopular - or all three."
The Deputy Prime Minister said it was it was vital the Government focuses more on the next generation instead of immediate needs.
He also suggested individuals were also struggling to balance preparing for the future with short-term indulgences in their own lives.
"Temptation is part of the human condition," he said, "but the question is whether our capacity to balance the immediate with the long-term is keeping pace with the expansion of choice."
http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2010/Sep/Week2/15723959.jpg
The Deputy PM added: "In real life, people eat donuts, decide not to go for a run, and put off making payments into their pension fund.
"The economists say this means we are engaged in an 'irrational discounting of time'. The rest of us describe it as being human."
However the Deputy Prime Minister appeared to soften the Government's rhetoric by
stressing that departmental reductions of up to 25% would be staggered over four years.
Although people were understandably anxious, they should not feel there was a "sword of Damocles" that would fall overnight, he added.
Sky's political correspondent Niall Paterson (http://twitter.com/niallpaterson) said the speech sounded more like a lecture.
"He is justifying taking severe cuts at the moment so that future generations are not unduly burdoned," Paterson added