John
01-09-2010, 10:03 AM
Alistair Darling indicated that Labour was ready to rein in spending severely once the economy had recovered from the recession.
His comments come amid signs that the markets are more confident about Conservative plans to cut the £178bn deficit more quickly than Labour's pledge to halve it in four years.
Mr Darling's warning will be seen as a shift away from some of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's rhetoric about the choice between Labour and the Tories representing "investment" versus "cuts".
In an interview with The Times, Mr Darling said: "My priority is to get borrowing down. Once recovery is established we have to act.
"The next spending review will be the toughest we have had for 20 years.
"... to me, cutting the borrowing was never negotiable. Gordon accepts that, he knows that."
Mr Darling also told the paper that voters supported his effort to balance the books.
"Most people know that public spending has doubled over the last 10 to 12 years, so we are coming off a much higher base," he said.
"We are not talking about a situation where we have already cut to the bone."
His comments come amid signs that the markets are more confident about Conservative plans to cut the £178bn deficit more quickly than Labour's pledge to halve it in four years.
Mr Darling's warning will be seen as a shift away from some of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's rhetoric about the choice between Labour and the Tories representing "investment" versus "cuts".
In an interview with The Times, Mr Darling said: "My priority is to get borrowing down. Once recovery is established we have to act.
"The next spending review will be the toughest we have had for 20 years.
"... to me, cutting the borrowing was never negotiable. Gordon accepts that, he knows that."
Mr Darling also told the paper that voters supported his effort to balance the books.
"Most people know that public spending has doubled over the last 10 to 12 years, so we are coming off a much higher base," he said.
"We are not talking about a situation where we have already cut to the bone."