Where I'd swing the axe - Part 2 (More cuts)

In Part 1 I outlined how I would streamline the benefits system in order to ensure that government money doesn't go to those who don't need it.  Here, in Part 2, I shall outline where I would make further cuts in order to ensure the UK's long-term financial stability.



The NHS
Before I say anything more, I'd like you to hear me out on this one...

I know and accept that it was a Conservative manifesto promise that they were going to ring-fence NHS spending and increase it in real terms year on year.  As far as I am concerned, there are two types of NHS spending: the spending that is visible (i.e. frontline spending), which takes care of patient care, operations and everything that is good about the NHS; then there is the invisible spending that takes care of management etc., and embodies everything that is bad about the NHS in this day and age.

It is my belief that we would be able to drastically cut the so-called invisible spending whilst ensuring that frontline spending is increased year-on-year.

The 2020Health think-tank happens to agree with me and has outlined £12bn of savings that can be made within the NHS without having to cancel a single operation.  They outline the ideas much better than I ever could, and you can read them here.

With £12bn saved, it would be possible to pump the money into areas where it is needed most, increasing spending whilst still saving money.

University Spending
The Government needs to stop its subsidising of university places and stop it now.

Anyone with a political mind knows that the Government promotion of university education is a very easy way to ensure that at any one time there are the best part of two million students studying at universities and therefore not troubling the unemployment figures.

It won't be a popular move, and of course it will provide ammunition for the opposition but desperate times call for desperate measures.

I fully understand and accept that universities do their bit as far as research is concerned and that such research is vital for the long-term development of the UK economy.  That is why I suggest that a research fund remains, that can be accessed by universities.  However, they would need to apply for Government funding.  There should be an end to the system whereby Government money is just given to universities to do with as they will.

The Public Sector
One of the big themes of the Conservative campaign was the amount of money that is wasted in the Public Sector; be it on needless purchases, exorbitant salaries or simply on non-jobs.

The Government needs to come down on Public Sector waste... and come down hard

Here, three things need to be done:

1. Putting a freeze on pay.  It is well known that Public Sector workers are amongst the best paid in the UK.  There is no reason why their salaries shouldn't be in line with those received by workers doing similar jobs in the Private Sector.  Whilst reducing their salaries would be political suicide for the Government, they should be moving to ensure that salaries are frozen until they can be justifiably increased.
2. Putting a freeze on recruitment.  Another well known fact about the Public Sector is that it is terribly bloated.  Over the last 13 years, the Labour Government looked to employ as many people as possible so that come election time there would be plenty of people reliant on a Labour victory to keep their Government-funded pay-cheque coming in every month.  Why should a Public Sector organisation require so many more workers than its counterpart in the Private Sector?
3. Making sure that every penny is squeezed for all it's worth.  This would be a case of setting up an independent governing body to oversee the spending of all Public Sector bodies to ensure that the taxpayer is getting real value for money and not just a few thousand pounds worth of pot plants.  The savings made would ensure that it pays for itself, and then some.

In part three: The tax increases...