LONDON — Britons already angry over their government’s austerity measures may want to look away now. A top official said the middle classes still haven’t grasped just how much the government’s spending cuts will hurt.
Justice minister Kenneth Clarke said that while he felt the public understood the need to cut down on the deficit, “I don’t think Middle England has quite taken on board the scale of the problem.”
Britain’s coalition government is pushing through $128 billion worth of spending cuts in a bid to control the country’s massive debt. The cuts have already led to thousands of job losses in the public sector — just this week Birmingham, Britain’s No. 2 city, said 4,000 city workers would lose their jobs.
Tuition increases intended to help plug the hole in the nation’s finances have also led to violent protests, including one rally in which Prince Charles’ Rolls Royce was targeted by protesters.
But Clarke said the full impact of the government’s deficit-reduction would only be felt “as the cuts start coming home this year.”
Opponents seized on Clarke’s comments to argue that the government’s austerity program was out of touch with the needs of the country’s voters. “The middle classes are already worried about the impact that the cuts are having,” said Labour leader Ed Miliband.
Clarke defended the government’s plans, saying that while they would be painful, they were necessary to cut the country’s huge deficit and safeguard its economy. “If someone says it’s not as bad as all that, I say (they) just don’t realize the calamitous position we’re in.”
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