Tory ringfencing increases

When George Osborne first announced they were no-longer matching Labour's spending plans in 2010-11 they made plain that two areas would be protected from cuts: health spending and international development.

See here.

This morning, we learn from David Cameron that two new areas have been quietly added to this roster: schools spending and defence.

See Francis Elliott's report here.

The decision to include schools is interesting because it heads off Labour attacks that they will cut the education budget - but notice how universities and higher education have been excluded.

The inclusion of defence, which will no doubt have come after strong behind-the-scenes pressure from Liam Fox, comes days after ConservativeHome survey revealed that grassroots think defence should be the top spending priority. (The lowest priority is international development).

A significant moment...

Comments

[Faceless Bureaucrat]

Mmmm.....

Clinging to Defence as a priority spending target when the policy agenda had in fact moved to Public Services was one of the Conservative Party's mistakes which ensured their annihilation in 1997. That said, NuLab have had over a decade to fiscally decimate all branches of the Armed Services and get us involved in two unwinnable wars, so perhaps the subject has indeed come full circle and will now play well with the Electorate.

[Colin Holland]

Schools are needed but the problem is in the teaching profession itself after a decade of NuLabor interference.
Defence needs to be upgraded and significant waste removed - the war in Afghanistan is a waste of money if Pakistan is not brought within a controllable political environment and Afghan corruption negated.

[guy herbert]

If they are relying on the tendentiously- designed ConservativeHome surveys and their self-selected sample to discover what any identifiable group thinks, then gods help them.

(Defence spending might be a higher priority than the other areas asked about, but that doesn't mean there isn't too much spending, or that government plans aren't hopelessly misdirected.)