Budget Cuts Options

[Phil_D11102]

Yesterday the axe swung on the military. As one who took volunatry redunancy in the early 90's, I was lucky enough to find a job before I took off my uniform for the last time. The prospect of losing thousands of police, civil servants, it doesn't look good.

Cutting back on manpower whether it be in the civil service ranks, military, police, etc will just leave gaps and overwork those still in jobs. Standards will slip, which will just leave both the public and those who are to run these agencies disgruntled.

Earmarking education funding for poorer areas being paid for by those who are supposedly more affluent taxpayers is not equal, as the school curriculum should be the same across the UK. How about leveing a tax on those parents who kids don't attend schools or leave without at least C grade GCSE's in English, Math, Citizenship and Science. If you don't have a legitmate reason for obtaining those grades, then you were surely wasting taxpayer money. It then seems that these same people will be the ones on lower incomes and seeking to obtain benefits. Education is the key to success.

Now that tution fees are due to increase, what is next, paying for you children to attend pre university education?

Surely if the reason behind this is to reduce the budget defecit, then there has got to be other ways to do it. Get the banks to pay back what they owe sooner. Cut foreign aid by at least 2/3's and give only for humanitarian aid and those projects being run by allies who truly support democracy.

I am not a communist, socialist, anarchist, or even a lib dem. I am just a tax payer who wants in power those who seem to want to do the best job for EVERYBODY. Will the next winter of discontent come from the middle class?

I don't think making huge cuts in public services produces positive results. The UK is in crisis mode, and the saying is "Charity begins at home". Wasn't the third world debt was eliminated by the global powers in 2000? For a couple of years we need to close ranks and get our own house in order before we are on a footing to help others.

Again, stop sticking it to the taxpayers, and begin to look for alternative means to get the UK back on a solid footing.

[Richard Garvie]

There does need to be benefit reform. I can't speak for my colleagues in Westminster, but here in West Berkshire we are realistic. This being said, decisions taken need to be thought through and fair. From the evidence so far, I would say that this whole process as been rushed through on Tory ideology rather than neccessity. Why on earth were the Tories and Libs cheering these savage cuts??? Why was the Lib MP Bob Russell cracking jokes during the announcement of the pension cuts???? Why was Cameron laughing and joking??? Hardly trying to win over hearts and minds.

We need to move away from what the red tops are saying, this crisis was caused by the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the murky financial services industry. In 2007, the tories were calling for less regulation on the banks, now they are blaming the crash on Labour!!! With regards to the defecit, lets be clear. If Labour had not bailed out the banks we would have lost our jobs, homes, the lot. The money we get back from the banks will include a huge profit. Are you suggesting that the Tories would not have bailed out the banks???

What it comes down to now is that the Tories want to cut too fast, they say they want to go down the same route as Ireland. Look at the state they ended up in. Regardless of your political bias, look at this with a common sense view, not rose tinted (or blue tinted) spectacles.

[JeffG]

here in West Berkshire we are realistic.

Who are "we"? I thought you were a prospective Labour candidate, which in this area is a bit of a pointless fantasy.