Ed Balls has warned of a bleak future if the Conservatives win the next general election because of the cuts that they are planning to make.
Ed Balls
Shadow chancellor Mr Balls has suggested that the Tories would introduce £70 billion pounds working of public sector cuts - that would put services under even greater strain than they already are.
Mr Balls was in London yesterday to give a speech ahead of George Osborne's final budget before the general election, and his message made grim reading.
Mr Balls has suggested that no departments would be safe from these cuts, including the NHS. He also suggested that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Transport would have no 'day to day budget' if these savage cuts go ahead.
During his speech, he said: "The evidence is clear... countries which reduce public spending at the pace George Osborne intends have found they have had no alternative but to cut health spending.
"And those who have reduced public spending to the levels that George Osborne is seeking have health systems where charging for services is triple the share here.
"Evidence suggests the NHS will end up paying the price if George Osborne pursues his extreme planned spending cuts.The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Transport would have no day-to-day budgets left."
Mr Balls went on to suggest that the army and police service would also face further cuts.
So far, the Conservatives have been unwilling to reveal where cuts will be made if they win the election, but Mr Osborne will be pressure to make that clear when he reveals his final budget next Wednesday. However, Mr Balls' predictions have been rubbished by the Tories, who claim that they plan to cut £30 billion next parliament and not £70 billion.
Conservative party chairman Grant Shapps told the Daily Mail: "I think Balls has lost his marbles on this. He is making up a set of figures today and I think fairly ludicrously already having to back track from his speech in which he claimed the next Conservative government would be closing down major government departments.
"That's a sign of how chaotic Labour is.' Mr Balls insisted that to achieve a budget surplus by the end of the next parliament, Mr Osborne would have to deliver 'colossal cuts' to public spending."
Labour have pleged to pour more money into the NHS should they win the general election in May, they will fund this by introducing the already highly controversial mansion tax.
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