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Government making cuts that Thatcher could only have dreamt of

Greg Barker By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

A government minister has been caught out revealing the government’s true motivation for cuts – and the extent of their plans – on a visit to the US. Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change Greg Barker, speaking at an event at the Darla Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina, told the audience,

“We are making cuts that Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s could only have dreamt of.”

Barker is also believed to have told his audience that the government plan to cut spending by 75%.

The event, and Barker’s comments, were reported in University of South Carolina’s official newspaper, the Daily Gamecock, who record his speech as follows:

“Barker began his speech by outlining Britain’s budget crisis and expressing the Conservative commitment to austere measures as a solution, saying his colleagues plan to cut spending by 75 percent.

“We are making cuts that Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s could only have dreamt of,” Barker said.

Barker said the U.K.’s deficit is higher than that of Greece, Portugal, Ireland and Spain and that the country currently spends 150 billion pounds (0.6 billion) annually just paying interest. Barker said that is more than the entire budget of his country’s Ministry of Defense, Foreign Office and International Development Program combined.”
Update: Angela Eagle has responded to news of Barker’s remarks, saying:
“Greg Barker has let the cat out the bag about the ideological agenda behind this Tory-led government’s deep cuts to public services.

“But while Conservatives might dream about deep cuts, for millions of families it’s more like a nightmare. From this week millions will see cuts to their tax credits and childcare support as well as cuts to services they rely on like children’s centres and libraries.

“As Nick Clegg himself admitted last month, it was the government’s political choice to cut further and faster than any other major country in the world. There have to be tough choices to get the deficit down, but by going too deep and too fast George Osborne is hitting families hard and holding back an economy which should be growing strongly this year. With higher unemployment and slower growth meaning the government will now have to borrow £46 billion more, it’s clear that these deep cuts are not only hurting, they’re also not working.”

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