History shows Osborne’s proposed spending cuts after 2015 would be unusual but not unprecedented in terms of duration and depth

At the beginning of the year, George Osborne announced his intention to push on with spending cuts should the Conservatives be re-elected in 2015. Christopher Hood and Rozana Himaz look at previous episodes of UK expenditure cutbacks and find that the current proposals are no more extreme. However, they argue the Scottish referendum could mean the stakes in spending-cap politics prove to be higher this time round.