Russell welcomes devolved administrations’ united declaration on the economy

Yesterday saw ground broken in a unanimous joint declaration from the devolved administrations of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, warning the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the economic dangers of cutting too much too fast.

The weight of this cannot be ignored. The view advanced is also sounding notes now beginning to be heard from other qualified sources like the World Bank.

There are three key issues.

No one can seriously advance a case that the UK should not make strenuous efforts – and take the real pain of them – to pay down a debt of £1 trillion that is costing is £120 million each day in interest alone.

No one can make a serious case in defence of a bloated public sector and an out-of-control nanny state.

But the depth of cuts made could, if injudicious, clearly kill enterprise and stall the growth it breeds – yet that is a major part of earning our way out of this debt.

Michael Russell MSP, the SNP Parliamentary Candidate for Argyll, has welcomed the joint declaration made on 7th October 2010, by the First Ministers, Deputy First Ministers and Finance Ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland ahead of the UK Comprehensive Spending Review.

Mr Russell warns that the Chancellor must not ignore the unprecedented declaration and pointed to reports in the Financial Times that the Treasury is already working up plans to reprofile spending cuts because of the difficulties of quickly cutting spending. These ‘difficulties’ include swingeing financial penalties for breaking contracts and include redundancy costs.

Mr Russell  says: ‘This is a remarkable and unanimous warning from three out of the four UK nations. It represents five political parties in government and it must not be ignored by the Chancellor.

‘The scale of the spending cuts proposed by the UK Government risks jeopardising recovery and causing significant harm to the economy at this critical period. There is no doubt that, by cutting too far and too fast, there is a real risk that the UK Government will make things far worse.

‘George Osborne must listen to the case that is being made and act to protect growth in the economy and so set the course for sustainable public finances. The Chancellor would have us believe that there is no alternative to his hard and fast cuts, and that is just not the case.

‘Reports suggest the Treasury is already working up plans to reprofile spending cuts because of the dangers of quickly cutting spending, that is encouraging, and it is clearly not too late for the Chancellor to think again in the weeks before the announcement of the UK’s Comprehensive Spending Review.

‘The recent report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies underlined concerns that the Tory/Liberal coalition is pursuing a regressive, not progressive, agenda which will widen the gap between rich and poor and result in sustained cuts to public services’.

In short, the best surgeons know where to incise, how deep to go and and short a time the wound may be left open in the interests of the patients recovery.

Mr Osborne’s skills with the scalpel and his reading of the constitutional capacity of the patient to withstand serious surgery will be critical in the times to come.