The impact of Coalition
What has the Coalition government achieved? Nicholas Timmins ponders its legacy and limitations in a landscape of austerity, and its effect upon policy and public services.
Four years in, and just one more to go for the Coalition government. So how will it be remembered? What has been its biggest impact, for good or ill? Well, it will certainly be remembered for cuts, cuts and more cuts – and their effects will be felt far beyond the lifespan of this parliament. And also for some policy gaffes, some undoubted controversies, some quiet successes and – just possibly – for some important long-term decisions.
The cuts were inevitable. Whoever took power in 2010, public spending had to be reduced, and by a lot. The biggest spending cuts since WWII were announced, the effects of which are only just becoming evident. Police numbers down 10 per cent; libraries closed; absent flood defences; social housing unbuilt as house prices surge; social care slashed, with 26?per cent fewer older people receiving public support than in 2009... the list goes on. But as the Institute for Fiscal Studies recently pointed out in its annual ‘Green Budget’ report, only 40 per cent of the planned spending cuts have so far taken effect.
Two observations are worth making here. One is that there is much more of this to come, both from announced cuts as yet unimplemented, and from a further round – of unknown severity – after the next election. The second is how relatively little direct impact has been felt by some services...
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Ethosis aimed at public sector leaders, politicians, academics and policy specialists debating the future of public services today.
