Party Manifestos Suggest ‘Sharp Cuts’ Likely Under Next Government, Says IFS

Several public services are at risk of suffering “sharp cuts” under either a future Labour or Conservative government, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). The IFS said the manifestos of the major parties provided little information about the funding outlook for individual services, which makes it easier for them to stay silent on the cuts to unprotected budgets. The IFS said it did not expect the parties to conduct comprehensive spending reviews for a potential five-year Parliament in their manifestos. But it added parties could have provided more details on their priorities and rough minimums or totals for different areas of spending in a bid to “give a sense of what we can realistically expect from them” in the next Parliament....