Dear Editor
Your correspondent last week wrote of squandering £40m on Olympic fireworks while the coalition government made cuts particularly citing the NHS and and pensions.
Spending in the NHS led by the Conservatives will steadily grow from £98.4bn in 2010/11 through to £109.8bn in 2014/15 with necessary efficiency savings being directed back into what the NHS is for - health. Labour in Wales plan to actually cut health spending in ther principality while here in England Labour Health Shadow Andy Burnham said "it is irresponsible to increase NHS spending in real terms" (Guardian 16 June 2010). Locally, and of great alarm to Chorley folk, members of Chorley's Labour Party peddled a line to "Save Chorley Hospital" where no closure was ever threatened.
State pensioners will benefit too as the Conservative-led governments triple-lock takes effect. A new state pensioner today can expect £15,000 more over their life through increases which will be based on prices, earnings or 2.5% whichever is the greatest. Remember Labour's notorious 75p a week pension increase? *This year the basic state pension will increase by £5.30 a week to £107.45the biggest cash rise since 1948!*
But under Labour for every £4 spent by government, £1 was borrowed. Our debt got so big we were spending £120 million every day just paying the interest -- and that bill is getting bigger.
The banks made a bad situation worse, but what really got Britain into this mess was years of Labour spending money we didn't have and couldn't afford.
Everyone knows that, as when someone runs up a massive credit card bill, the longer you put off dealing with debt, the worse it gets and the more it costs. It would have been much easier not to deal with the problem. But delay would just pass this generation's debt onto our children, stall economic recovery and cost even more.
Peter Malpas
Deputy Chairman
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