Thatcher 'could only dream' of coalition spending cuts

By Hannah Brenton

Margaret Thatcher "could only have dreamt of" the coalition's spending cuts, the climate change minister has said.

Speaking in South Carolina, Gregory Barker told the audience: "We are making cuts that Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s could only have dreamt of."

Labour has pounced on the comments, arguing they show government spending cuts are part of an ideological agenda.

Angela Eagle MP, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said the Mr Barker had "let the cat out of the bag".

"Greg Barker has let the cat out the bag about the ideological agenda behind this Tory-led government's deep cuts to public services," she said.

"But while Conservatives might dream about deep cuts, for millions of families it's more like a nightmare.

"From this week millions will see cuts to their tax credits and childcare support as well as cuts to services they rely on like children's centres and libraries."

Mr Barker's comments come only a few days after Cabinet Office minister Oliver Letwin appeared to reveal government fears over the state of the economy to a Commons committee.

Mr Letwin told the environmental audit committee there had been "an immediate national crisis in the form of less growth and jobs than we needed" that prompted the Budget's growth agenda.