Hard choices in UK public policy – what to cut, not when

No matter who forms the new government in May 2010, the new set of ministers will have to tackle the worst deficit in UK public finance for decades. The 2010 to 2015 period will inevitably require policy-makers and citizens to make some hard choices – either raising taxes or pruning spending on previously highly valued public services. In the second of our ‘Hard Choices’ series, and ahead of the last budget before the election, Joachim Wehner looks at how best to make cuts and potentially maintain economic growth.