Labour will be quick to pounce on an admission by Nick Clegg that the coalition made a mistake in cutting capital spending. The Liberal Democrat leader told the House magazine:
If I’m going to be sort of self-critical, there was this reduction in capital spending when we came into the Coalition Government But I think we’ve all realised that you actually need, in order to foster a recovery, to try and mobilise as much public and private capital into infrastructure as possible.
He added that the Tory policy of offering an in-out referendum on EU membership would not be a “deal breaker” in future coalition negotiations:
Every party will have their positions on Europe at the 2015 general election, and like everybody else, if there’s a Coalition, the parties will need to compare notes and work out what goes in the Coalition agreement.
In response, Labour treasury minister Rachel Reeves told ITV:
This is the first admission that this Government has made serious mistakes on the economy. But the real question is what Nick Clegg’s Government is going to do about it. We have urged Ministers to bring forward infrastructure investment and build thousands more homes, but they have refused to listen.
Content from our partners
Related
