Tackling the deficit
Prime Minister David Cameron has delivered a speech today on the need to cut the deficit and deal with Britain's growing debt.
Mr Cameron warned that the plans to cut the deficit will have “enormous implications” for the country but that he is determined to carry out the measures in a way that is “open, responsible and fair”.
The PM also said that the action needed to tackle the deficit it would affect everyone and the effects of those decisions will “stay with us for years, perhaps decades to come”.
Speaking alongside new Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander, the PM said:
How we deal with these things will affect our economy, our society - indeed our whole way of life.
The decisions we make will affect every single person in our country. And the effects of those decisions will stay with us for years, perhaps decades, to come.
It is precisely because these decisions are so momentous, because they will have such enormous implications, and because we cannot afford either to duck them or to get them wrong that I want to make sure we go about the urgent task of cutting our deficit in a way that is open, responsible and fair.
Tomorrow, Chancellor George Osborne and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander are set to publish the framework for this year’s Budget and Spending Review which will explain the principles behind the Government’s approach.
The Government is also preparing for the Emergency Budget on June 22 when Chancellor George Osborne will set out further details on cutting the deficit.
Speeches and transcripts: PM’s speech on the economy