Austerity set to continue
THE UK faces the prospect of two more “austerity” general elections as the Government struggles to re-build the public finances against a backdrop of sluggish economic growth, experts have warned.
A joint presentation by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and the Institute for Government (IfG) warned that public spending cuts were likely to be a long-term feature of the economy.
The IFS warned that a first actions of whoever is chancellor after the next election in 2015 may be to put up taxes.
The bleak assessment came as Chancellor George Osborne prepares to reveal his plans for the first year of the next parliament – 2015-16 – on June 26.