Cuts post-election - which ones would you like to see?

mbga9pgf

Benefits

carolt wrote: »

Assuming that more or less everyone is agreed that we cannot go on as we have been, and that cuts will need to be made to our economy at some point post-election (although there is disagreement over whether those cuts should be immediate or after a year or at some indeterminate future date when the economy picks up again), I thought it would be interesting to see where others thought the cuts could best be made.

You may tick as many options as are appropriate.

Carolt, just so everyone is aware, Trident does not sit within the defence budget.

The deterrent is effectively a seperate department, as the MOD dont get to choose what happens to that cash!

Old_Slaphead

Reduce public sector pensions

mbga9pgf wrote: »

Carolt, just so everyone is aware, Trident does not sit within the defence budget.

The deterrent is effectively a seperate department, as the MOD dont get to choose what happens to that cash!

But that's just semantics isn't it (and only really come to light in the pre-election squabblefest).

A boat (or 4) carrying bloody big bombs with the aim of scaring anyone off attacking us is, as far as I'm concerned, part of the defence-of-the-realm cost (no matter which departments headed notepaper it's on)

drc

Benefits

Does your local council ever answer the phone when you call them? Every time I call my local council I have to wait on the phone for ages for anyone to pick up (if they do at all). They have increased their staff numbers over the last decade yet it appears nobody is available to answer the phone of the telephone number which is apparently the first point of contact to their constituents. If it was a private company they would have been bankrupt years ago...

mbga9pgf

Benefits

Its not one the military necessarily agree with is my point.

The cost is a premium for our national grand strategy and is the only reason we hold a veto seat on the security council of the UN.

There is far more to it than just making people glow in the dark. Its far more political/diplomatic than straightforward defence.

Thats one thing you will never hear clegg mention.

ILW

drc wrote: »

Does your local council ever answer the phone when you call them? Every time I call my local council I have to wait on the phone for ages for anyone to pick up (if they do at all). They have increased their staff numbers over the last decade yet it appears nobody is available to answer the phone of the telephone number which is apparently the first point of contact to their constituents. If it was a private company they would have been bankrupt years ago...

You cannot expect them to answer the phone when they are all off on diversity courses or similar. (And that is the ones that are not off sick with stress)

nickmason

Benefits

Hangover from the previous Labour government - loss of economic status; ignominy of going cap in hand to the IMF; "basket case of Europe".

Hangover from this Labour government - loss of our deterrent and place on the world stage? Not that Clegg would mind of course, he thinks (like a few on here) that we shouldn't aspire to such a place (and I guess to be fair, we'd get an occasional glimpse, when the European roulette ball stops on us).

At risk of sounding like a few others on here, it makes me sick when I think what heritage - hard-fought by our predecessors - we are likely to have to concede to get ourselves out of this.