With the election now over, the real work for the Government begins, namely tackling the public finances. Michael Burton reports on the three main parties' plans – and whether they add up.
Revelations last week by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) that the main parties' promises on public finances ‘do not add up' should come as little surprise to public sector managers.
As the country goes to the polls, and the fiscal crisis in Greece provides an alarming portent of what could happen here, the focus moves from the election to the public finances – and how the next Government will address them.
But there have already been clear indications that the parties have not been ‘economical with the actualité' during the past few months, in a bid to avoid incurring the displeasure of voters.
At the Conservative spring conference in February, pledges on public spending implied not cuts but actual increases in public spending, especially in the NHS.
