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We have to cut spending - Cameron Cameron would axe MPs' cheap food
(10 minutes later)
David Cameron has said under a Conservative government public spending would be cut. David Cameron has pledged to end MPs' cut-price alcohol and food and reduce ministerial salaries in an effort to cut the cost of politics.
The Tory leader said in a speech that dealing with the UK's "deficit crisis" would be the priority. He also said the number of MPs - and ministerial cars - would be cut.
He said there had to be a sense of urgency and the process of bringing spending down had to start "now". The Tory leader said the £120m saving he could make through those and other measures was only a "pinprick" in the amount needed to balance the deficit.
He is also expected to outline how he plans to cut the cost of politics - saying that it would show politicians giving a lead. But he said politicians had to take a lead and everyone had to play a part in bearing the "burden".
Mr Cameron said: "Dealing with this deficit crisis must be the priority for our economy and it will frankly dictate our politics for years to come." In his first major speech since the summer political break, Mr Cameron said dealing with the UK's "deficit crisis" had to be a priority and said only his party was being "straight" with people.
"You have to be frank about the scale of the challenge and candid about what it means," he said."You have to be frank about the scale of the challenge and candid about what it means," he said.
"Unlike any previous polliticians in opposition... we've taken the bold step of saying to the British public very clearly, with a Conservative government, public spending will be cut. Not reduced in growth, not frozen, but cut." "Unlike any previous politicians in opposition... we've taken the bold step of saying to the British public very clearly, with a Conservative government, public spending will be cut. Not reduced in growth, not frozen, but cut.
"That candour is a world away from the current Labour government," he said, accusing Mr Brown of saying spending on programmes would have to rise - when his own Budget figures showed it would come down. "That candour is a world away from the current Labour government," he said
On his plans to cut the cost of politics, he restated plans to reduce the number of MPs in the House of Commons - currently 645 - to 585, which he said would save £15.5m.
Of the 169 government ministerial posts and three opposition party posts which get extra money on top of their MPs' salaries, their pay would be cut by an immediate 5% he said.
It would mean the prime minister would have their pay cut by £6,500 and cabinet ministers would get £4,000 each less. Salaries would also be frozen for the whole of the next Parliament, he said, saving more than £250,000 a year.
And on food and drink, which is subsidised in the Houses of Parliament, he said the cost would be raised to "match the prices normal people pay in cafes, restaurants and bars around the country" - which he said would save up to £5.5m.
He said MPs could get a salad for £1.70 and a pint of Fosters for £2.10 - "a little over half as much as in a normal London pub".
"We all have to eat, we all sometimes want a drink, there's nothing about this job that forces us to eat or drink any more than if we did something else," he said.