Labour's John McDonnell says Theresa May's austerity pledge is not 'credible'
John McDonnell tells Sky News the prime minister's rhetoric does not match up to reality and she is not serious about ending cuts.
Thursday 4 October 2018 12:54, UK
Theresa May's pledge that the end of austerity is in sight is not "credible", Labour has said.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell told Sky News the prime minister's rhetoric does not match up to reality.
It comes after Mrs May said in her Conservative Party conference speech the British people were crying out for light at the end of the tunnel 10 years after the financial crisis, adding: "People need to know that the austerity it led to is over and that their hard work has paid off."
But Mr McDonnell said the Tories were not serious, telling Sky News' All Out Politics the PM "said nothing yesterday that is in any way credible".
He called on the government to stop cuts to welfare benefits and plug funding gaps for local authorities, children's services and schools.
Mr McDonnell added: "That's the checklist that we'll have when he [Chancellor Philip Hammond] stands up for the Budget.
"And I tell you, there is no credibility in what they've said yesterday, and there'll be no credibility in this Budget.
"If he means to end austerity, he should be doing it now."
The Institute for Fiscal Studies has said Mrs May will have to find tens of billions of pounds in extra funding for the public sector if she is to make good on her pledge.
Director Paul Johnson said an extra £20bn would be needed by 2022 to pay for wage increases and halt cuts to ease the financial pressure on workers.
Mr Johnson told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the government has limited room for manoeuvre because it has already said it will increase health and defence spending.
"If the rest of the public sector is to avoid austerity, so at the very minimum if cuts stop from now on, that is going to require the government to find at least an extra £20bn or so by the end of this Parliament.
"And, even that won't feel particularly generous, but it will mean, of course, £20bn more on the deficit compared with what's being currently planned."
Amid speculation about her leadership and calls for her to change course on Brexit, Mrs May was widely seen to have delivered an assured performance in her keynote speech at the party's annual gathering in Birmingham.
But Tory MP Andrew Rosindell said that while the PM delivered a "great speech" and "lifted up the mood", her Chequers blueprint for Britain's EU exit was "still an issue".
"It hasn't been resolved," he told Sky News.
The MP for Romford said he was "encouraged" that Mrs May did not use the word "Chequers" in the address, noting: "It does seem to be me that there is a shift going on."