Chancellor aims to 'strengthen and unite'

CHANCELLOR George Osborne promised to slash the national deficit in a way that "strengthens and unites the country" as the Government was warned deeper cuts are needed to protect Britain's AAA credit rating.
By The Newsroom
Published 9th Jun 2010, 10:28 BST
Updated 9th Jun 2010, 10:30 BST

Mr Osborne said a deficit reduction plan was unavoidable after borrowing rocketed under Labour and he pledged to clamp down on benefits, tax credits and public sector pensions.

It followed a stark warning from ratings agency Fitch which claimed Britain faced a formidable challenge to repair the battered public finances.

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It said: "The scale of the UK's fiscal challenge is formidable and warrants a strong medium-term consolidation strategy - including a faster pace of deficit reduction than set out in the April 2010 Budget."

The Fitch announcement sent the pound tumbling against the dollar as well as the euro and came as Prime Minister David Cameron warned of "painful"' spending cuts that would affect everyone in Britain.

That pain was already being felt in Yorkshire with Bradford City Council announcing that free school meals for every primary school pupil in the district, costing 8.34m, was being cancelled.

Mr Cameron yesterday welcomed a frail Baroness Thatcher to 10 Downing Street for a private meeting. The 84-year-old, waved as she entered the address from which she led the UK between 1979 and 1990.

Related topics:GovernmentDavid CameronBritainBudgetLabour