Alan Johnson said the spending cuts could fundamentally alter Britain’s community
Government plans to cut public spending could inflict more damage than Margaret Thatcher’s 1980s cuts, new shadow chancellor Alan Johnson has said.
Mr Johnson, appointed on Friday, told the Observer the spending reductions due to be outlined on 20 October could “fundamentally alter our community”.
They risked sending the UK back into recession, he said.
On Saturday, Energy Secretary Chris Huhne said cut plans could be amended to match changing economic conditions.
The proposals to help reduce the UK deficit were not “lashed to the mast” and could be scaled back if economic conditions deteriorated or improved, the Lib Dem minister said.
However, later, in what appeared to be mixed messages from the coalition, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander told the Scottish Liberal Democrat conference the planned cuts were “unavoidable”.
Most Whitehall departments face cuts of up to 25% over four years.
In the interview in the Observer, Mr Johnson said cuts being made “too quickly and deeply”, coupled with complex reorganisations of the NHS and police services, would cause “huge harm” to the country.
Pointing to the Irish Republic’s descent back towards recession, he said: “We don’t have to look far to see what the effect can be of cutting too deep too soon.
“Even if double dip doesn’t happen, the way this coalition is implementing these changes will fundamentally alter our community and lead to a situation where we spend years trying to repair the damage.
“If you think of Thatcher in the 80s, the most she cut was 10%, and we are still feeling the effect of that in Hull, the city I represent.”
Speaking about his former department, Mr Johnson, who was home secretary until the May election, said there was “no way” the Home Office could slash its budget by 25% and keep the network of neighbourhood policing.
He cited the fact that reports say Chancellor George Osborne has given permission to the Bank of England to pump more money into the economy in another round of quantitative easing – coupled with gloomy employment figures from the US – as evidence of how fragile the economy is.
The shadow chancellor told the paper he fully backed the existing Labour policy, which struck a balance between bringing the deficit down and supporting growth.
“I am a realist about this. If you are cranking up lots of interest on debt, you need to bring the deficit down as fast as you can, consistent with jobs and growth, and I think that is where the Conservatives have fallen down.”
He also rejected suggestions he lacked the economic expertise and knowledge for one of the most important jobs in the shadow cabinet.
“You don’t need to be a professor of economics to be a Treasury minister. It is about getting up to speed very quickly and it is about listening to people,” he said.
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