John
06-14-2010, 07:08 PM
Nick Clegg's manifesto pledge before the General Election pushed to delay spending cuts until the time was right.
But he told an audience at the Institute for Government in London the financial crisis in Europe means that time is now.
"The choices that were available to us just two months ago are no longer available," Mr Clegg said.
His speech came hours after the new Office of Budget Responsibility declared Labour's last growth estimates were too optimistic.
The Lib Dem leader said the "responsible" and "progressive" measures still give "room for manoeuvre in how we tackle the deficit".
"By taking action, we do something hugely important," he added.
"We give ourselves the chance to shape outcomes: to do all we can to bring down the deficit in a way that delivers fairness; to protect those who need it most."
Sky News political editor Adam Boulton said Mr Clegg was "very much going beyond and in some cases against what the Liberal Democrats said in the election campaign".
"He has made it clear that he now buys this argument about the structural deficit and in the long run about the national debt and accepts that this is the generation that has got to draw the line in the sand and sort it out," he added.
"Those are bold words which you might expect at the beginning of a Government. It means a lot of pain. That may well feed into unpopularity over the next few years."
Mr Clegg has already endorsed £6.2bn-worth of reductions as part of the post-election coalition agreement with Tories.
He pointed to the crisis in the eurozone and the spectre of increased interest rates in the bond markets as the motivation to rein in the debt now.
His announcement comes a week ahead of an emergency budget, which is expected to outline plans to cut tens of billions of pounds from state spending.
"Make no mistake: this is not a task we relish. Nor was it our choice," he added, while accusing the former government of living in "denial".
"This is the legacy that we, as a new government, and we, the British people, were left. Left by a government very nearly bankrupt and certainly bankrupt of ideas," he said.
"It is the only way we can get our public finances on a sound footing. And to do anything else would not only be irresponsible, it would be a betrayal of our progressive values."
But he told an audience at the Institute for Government in London the financial crisis in Europe means that time is now.
"The choices that were available to us just two months ago are no longer available," Mr Clegg said.
His speech came hours after the new Office of Budget Responsibility declared Labour's last growth estimates were too optimistic.
The Lib Dem leader said the "responsible" and "progressive" measures still give "room for manoeuvre in how we tackle the deficit".
"By taking action, we do something hugely important," he added.
"We give ourselves the chance to shape outcomes: to do all we can to bring down the deficit in a way that delivers fairness; to protect those who need it most."
Sky News political editor Adam Boulton said Mr Clegg was "very much going beyond and in some cases against what the Liberal Democrats said in the election campaign".
"He has made it clear that he now buys this argument about the structural deficit and in the long run about the national debt and accepts that this is the generation that has got to draw the line in the sand and sort it out," he added.
"Those are bold words which you might expect at the beginning of a Government. It means a lot of pain. That may well feed into unpopularity over the next few years."
Mr Clegg has already endorsed £6.2bn-worth of reductions as part of the post-election coalition agreement with Tories.
He pointed to the crisis in the eurozone and the spectre of increased interest rates in the bond markets as the motivation to rein in the debt now.
His announcement comes a week ahead of an emergency budget, which is expected to outline plans to cut tens of billions of pounds from state spending.
"Make no mistake: this is not a task we relish. Nor was it our choice," he added, while accusing the former government of living in "denial".
"This is the legacy that we, as a new government, and we, the British people, were left. Left by a government very nearly bankrupt and certainly bankrupt of ideas," he said.
"It is the only way we can get our public finances on a sound footing. And to do anything else would not only be irresponsible, it would be a betrayal of our progressive values."