The Tories will reduce UK public spending to Estonian levels

IMF forecasts show that Britain could join a tiny group of European countries that have shrunk the size of their states dramatically. But it needn't be this way

In the main parties' election manifestos published this week, public spending is still public enemy number one. The Conservatives insist that a further 12bn in cuts to the welfare budget must be found over the course of the next parliament. If it isn't, they warn, then the hordes of so-called skivers who receive unemployment benefit, child support, or disability benefits will keep draining Britain dry.

Related: Which are the best countries in the world to live in if you are unemployed or disabled?

The UK could become a place in which people live shorter, more brutal and less valued lives

Continue reading...