Britain in 2020 – a vision of the future
Posted: 05 Dec 2014, 07:41
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014 ... the-future
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/busin ... 04499.html
How the country could look in six years’ time if spending cuts and austerity measures continue
And from the Independent:Energy and Climate Change
The Department of Energy and Climate Change budget has fared much better than Defra since 2010, but a huge chunk of its funding is spent on clearing up 50 years of nuclear waste. Straw said the predicted cuts by 2020 would damage the function of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. Support for clean, renewable and community energy would suffer as would schemes to improve the UK’s cold, draughty homes, which are among Europe’s worst and are linked to the 18,000 excess winter deaths last year.
Andrew Warren, at the Association for the Conservation of Energy, said reduced funding for insulation that makes homes warm and cheaper to heat is “madness”. He said: “Contrast that with Germany’s announcement on Wednesday that they are putting a further €1bn euros a year into residential energy efficiency schemes.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/busin ... 04499.html
Thanks George!The public will have to go on a £360bn borrowing binge to make George Osborne’s deficit reduction plans add up, an analysis by The Independent has found.
According to the small print in the latest report from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the public is forecast to add to its pile of unsecured lending, which includes credit card debt and bank overdrafts, by £360bn over the next five years.
If the public fails to spend, then growth would collapse and the Government’s deficit would be likely to start increasing again.