IFS manifesto analysis: fantasy island of Tory deficit reduction plan
by Larry Elliott Economics editor from on (#7NKD)
Institute for Fiscal Studies clearly thinks the Conservatives are winging it but Labour have failed to cash in politically
Cast your mind back to May 2010. George Osborne has arrived at the Treasury accusing the outgoing Labour government of not taking deficit reduction seriously enough. The chancellor announces new austerity measures designed to balance the books within a single parliament.
The plan fails. Taking the axe to infrastructure projects and raising VAT deflates the economy, which slows to a standstill after two years. Osborne quietly abandons his own plan in favour of the deficit-reduction blueprint he inherited from Alastair Darling.
Related: Tories have 30bn black hole in spending plans, says IFS
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