0.7%

…apparently the difference between New Labour and the Conservatives planned spending policies following the next general election, whoever wins;

“David Cameron today insisted that reality had finally “caught up with the prime minister” as he accused Gordon Brown of engaging in a long-term “cover-up” of plans to cut public spending.

The Tory chief used his monthly press conference to underline George Osborne’s claim that the prime minister was “not telling the truth” over plans to reduce departmental budgets by 9.3%.

An internal government document marked “confidential”, obtained by the Tories, suggested reductions of almost 10% were under discussion as long ago as the budget in April.

The prime minister has consistently sought to portray the debate about public spending as between Labour investment versus Tory cuts.” – BBC News 16/9

The neoliberal consensus amongst the mainstream parties continues. Not only are the Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats planning savage spending cuts across the board (likely to entrench the recession through a major slump in demand), but many major trade union leaders meeting at this weeks TUC continue to blindly follow the government into the fire falsely believing they have any kind of sway over the New Labour leadership. Others are no longer under such illusions, but continue to bankroll the Labour Party and the policies it enacts which are often in opposition to their own member’s interests.