Article for North Devon Journal

Next week, the Chancellor George Osborne will present his emergency Budget to the House of Commons.

Next week, the Chancellor George Osborne will present his emergency Budget to the House of Commons. It comes not a moment too soon; figures released yesterday by the new Office for Budget Responsibility have not only slashed the estimate for how much the economy will grow next year, but have also shown that the nation's structural deficit - the part of the deficit that is not automatically reduced by economic growth - is a lot worse than expected.

We need to cut Government spending, and quickly; it beggars belief that at a time when we will soon be in a situation where 10p in every pound paid in tax will have to go on interest payments for our national debt, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs was splashing out on branded toothbrushes and 'travel wallets', not to mention spending an extra £32,000 on 'executive recycling bins' which were smaller than the cheap bins they replaced.

Luckily, things are not all doom and gloom. Thanks in part to the Chancellor's arguments at the recent G20 meeting, there is now an international consensus that spending reduction is the only sensible way forward. There is also consensus closer to home. The revelation at the weekend that during the Liberal-Labour negotiations after the election Nick Clegg pushed hard for immediate cuts, shows that even before the Coalition was formed, both Parties involved recognised the scale of the problem.

One of the most encouraging things I have seen in recent weeks is how everyone, Conservative and Liberal alike, is working together to rescue the economy. There is far too much at stake for us to descend into partisan bickering, and Ministers have risen to the challenge. We should not pretend that we agree on everything, but even on issues such as Tuition Fees and Capital Gains Tax, I think both sides are determined to have a mature debate and find common ground.

Next week's Budget will test the new Government's resolve; it will be an uncompromising document for very difficult times, and some very tough decisions will have to be made for the good of the country. In these circumstances, it is very encouraging indeed that the Government remains so united and steadfast. Our Ministers are facing one of the biggest challenges of any peacetime Government; whether Conservatives or Liberal Democrats, I think they are up to the task.