Two items in the news this week fit together rather nicely - the protesters in the City of London are calling for some new thinking and The Guardian published its brilliant graphic showing what the Government is spending our money on.
I’m all for new ideas coming from the public. They tend to be more sensible than the ideas governments put forward.
And I’m all for a new look at how governments - Left or Right - spend our money.
On the left of this table is how the coalition government is currently spending our taxes.
On the right, the changes my government would propose.
The main savings come from Defence spending. Do we still need the army, navy, air force and nuclear deterrent we needed when we were threatened by invasion by Germany 60 years ago?
The world is different now. The threat of invasion no longer exists. We use our military forces to attack other countries, not to defend our own.
There are threats, but do we need military might to defeat terrorism, or is intelligence a better weapon?
My government would slash Defence spending and beef up GCHQ.
I’d also cut international aid. How much of the £7.68 billion is doing good and how much is simply going in to venal pockets? We should be looking towards Europe, not towards Africa.
Finally, I would cut the amount we spend on collecting taxes. We need a simpler tax system which needs fewer taxmen and women to administer and fewer lawyers to investigate.
The savings from those three areas would reduce our borrowing and cut the amount we have to pay in interest charges.
There must be other new ideas out there. My government does not have exclusive rights to wisdom. The figures are public. How would you spend it?
I’m all for new ideas coming from the public. They tend to be more sensible than the ideas governments put forward.
And I’m all for a new look at how governments - Left or Right - spend our money.
On the left of this table is how the coalition government is currently spending our taxes.
On the right, the changes my government would propose.
| Total spend, in billions | 691.67 | Suggested spend | 625.49 | ||
| Work, pensions, benefits | 160.68 | 23.23% | 160.68 | 25.69% | |
| Health | 105.60 | 15.27% | 105.60 | 16.88% | |
| Education | 58.34 | 8.43% | 58.34 | 9.33% | |
| Revenue and customs | 45.78 | 6.62% | 24.21 | 3.87% | |
| Debt interest | 43.90 | 6.35% | 39.51 | 6.32% | |
| Defence | 39.46 | 5.71% | 3.46 | 0.55% | |
| Local government | 37.80 | 5.47% | 37.80 | 6.04% | |
| Scotland | 34.88 | 5.04% | 34.88 | 5.58% | |
| Business | 24.04 | 3.48% | 24.04 | 3.84% | |
| Wales | 15.87 | 2.29% | 15.87 | 2.54% | |
| Transport | 12.32 | 1.78% | 12.32 | 1.97% | |
| Home Office | 10.45 | 1.51% | 10.45 | 1.67% | |
| Justice | 9.46 | 1.37% | 9.46 | 1.51% | |
| Ireland | 9.05 | 1.31% | 9.05 | 1.45% | |
| Climate | 8.06 | 1.17% | 8.06 | 1.29% | |
| International | 7.68 | 1.11% | 3.46 | 0.55% | |
| Culture, media, sport | 7.02 | 1.01% | 7.02 | 1.12% | |
| Others | 61.28 | 8.86% | 61.28 | 9.80% |
The main savings come from Defence spending. Do we still need the army, navy, air force and nuclear deterrent we needed when we were threatened by invasion by Germany 60 years ago?
The world is different now. The threat of invasion no longer exists. We use our military forces to attack other countries, not to defend our own.
There are threats, but do we need military might to defeat terrorism, or is intelligence a better weapon?
My government would slash Defence spending and beef up GCHQ.
I’d also cut international aid. How much of the £7.68 billion is doing good and how much is simply going in to venal pockets? We should be looking towards Europe, not towards Africa.
Finally, I would cut the amount we spend on collecting taxes. We need a simpler tax system which needs fewer taxmen and women to administer and fewer lawyers to investigate.
The savings from those three areas would reduce our borrowing and cut the amount we have to pay in interest charges.
There must be other new ideas out there. My government does not have exclusive rights to wisdom. The figures are public. How would you spend it?
