Littlewood: the Spending Review could have been far more radical

At ConservativeHome, Mark Littlewood writes,

The Coalition seems to have accepted the basic parameters they inherited from the previous administration and sought to make savings within them rather than fundamentally recasting the way the public sector works.

The impression given is that the Coalition would rather not be making any cuts at all. These are, we are basically being told, difficult and unpleasant decisions for troubled times. One is left with the nagging impression that if the public finances were in a healthy state the Government wouldn’t see fit to cut back anything much at all.

Littlewood also notes that high public spending is only part of the problem:

The Coalition has really only addressed one side of the equation so far – public spending. It needs to swiftly turn its attention to liberating the private sector. The fact that British tax legislation stretches to 8,000 pages – several times the length of War and Peace – costing businesses up to £20 billion a year just in compliance costs is madness. The recent equalities legislation will deter employers from expanding their payrolls, as would an extension of maternity leave. The national minimum wage should not be considered sacrosanct either.

I recommend the whole article.

Hat tip DK.