This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-19750556

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Labour pledges 'ruthless' post-election spending review Labour pledges 'ruthless' post-election spending review
(about 4 hours later)
Labour will review the purpose and value of all public spending if it wins the next general election, shadow chancellor Ed Balls has said.Labour will review the purpose and value of all public spending if it wins the next general election, shadow chancellor Ed Balls has said.
In an interview with the Guardian, Mr Balls said voters wanted the party to be "ruthless and disciplined".In an interview with the Guardian, Mr Balls said voters wanted the party to be "ruthless and disciplined".
The review would be conducted within a year of a Labour government coming to power, he added.The review would be conducted within a year of a Labour government coming to power, he added.
In his recent party conference speech, Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said Labour had "plunged" the UK into austerity.In his recent party conference speech, Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said Labour had "plunged" the UK into austerity.
The previous government had "crashed the economy and racked up record debts", Mr Clegg told Lib Dem activists in Brighton on Wednesday.The previous government had "crashed the economy and racked up record debts", Mr Clegg told Lib Dem activists in Brighton on Wednesday.
"Are you ready to trust Labour with your money again?" the deputy prime minister asked rhetorically."Are you ready to trust Labour with your money again?" the deputy prime minister asked rhetorically.
In the Guardian on Friday, Mr Balls said: "The public want to know that we are going to be ruthless and disciplined in how we go about public spending. Speaking ahead of Labour's annual conference in Manchester, Mr Balls told The Guardian: "The public want to know that we are going to be ruthless and disciplined in how we go about public spending.
Ed Balls' ideas will be seen as Labour's latest attempt to be seen as economically credible.Ed Balls' ideas will be seen as Labour's latest attempt to be seen as economically credible.
Economic credibility will be the front line of the next general election campaign.Economic credibility will be the front line of the next general election campaign.
This presents a two-pronged challenge for Labour: answering those critics who blame the party for the country's current parlous economic state, and answering those who ponder what a centre-left party is for when there isn't much money about.This presents a two-pronged challenge for Labour: answering those critics who blame the party for the country's current parlous economic state, and answering those who ponder what a centre-left party is for when there isn't much money about.
Those around Chancellor George Osborne are dismissing Labour's ideas. One source said Ed Balls was "a man with a past" who was part of a government "that left our public finances the worst in the Western world".Those around Chancellor George Osborne are dismissing Labour's ideas. One source said Ed Balls was "a man with a past" who was part of a government "that left our public finances the worst in the Western world".
"For a Labour government in 2015, it is quite right, and the public I think would expect this, to have a proper zero-based spending review where we say we have to justify every penny and make sure we are spending in the right way," he told the newspaper."For a Labour government in 2015, it is quite right, and the public I think would expect this, to have a proper zero-based spending review where we say we have to justify every penny and make sure we are spending in the right way," he told the newspaper.
The "zero-based" approach would entail looking at budgets from scratch, rather than just the amount by which individual departmental budgets rise or are squeezed each year.The "zero-based" approach would entail looking at budgets from scratch, rather than just the amount by which individual departmental budgets rise or are squeezed each year.
It would force a new government, Mr Balls said, to "face up to some big strategic questions in public spending" - something he claims the coalition has failed to do. This process, Mr Balls said, would allow the government "to test spending not on the basis of whether it is easy to slash, but whether it meets your priorities".
The shadow chancellor told the Guardian the review would be subject to a number of qualifications: it would allow the party to fulfil commitments set out in its election manifesto, such as protecting the budget for international aid, and it would examine whether particular cuts now would be likely to lead to higher costs later. And it would force a new government to "look radically at public spending" and "face up to some big strategic questions in public spending" - something he claims the coalition has failed to do.
"It is something that governments have not done enough in the past."
The shadow chancellor told the Guardian the review would be subject to a number of qualifications such as allowing the party to fulfil commitments set out in its election manifesto.
He said: "We will need to make decisions in our manifesto on our big strategy on taxation and spending, as well as our fiscal rules. As in past parliaments, that could mean we make overall commitments on some items of spending.
"For example there is a cross-party consensus on spending on international development. But that does not mean the DfID budget is taken out of the zero budget review - you still need to know the money is being spent wisely."
The review would examine whether particular cuts now would be likely to lead to higher costs later.
He also added that he hoped a cross-party consensus could be reached on some contentious areas of public spending, such as the funding of social care.He also added that he hoped a cross-party consensus could be reached on some contentious areas of public spending, such as the funding of social care.