Under the radar

THOSE NICE Nu Tories couldn’t possibly do anything nasty if they get power, right? That nice Mr Cameron even mentioned housing in his conference speech.

Wrong, says Polly Toynbee this morning. Public spending cuts are inevitable.

‘What might the Tories do to shrink the state? At first expect no headline cuts in services used by the middle classes – the schools and hospitals. Nor in police, prisons or army. Don’t expect charges back for museums and art galleries. Instead, listen out for everything Cameron and his front bench sneer at.’

Toynbee is of course not coming to this entirely free of political baggage. But be prepared to feel depressed as she reels off a list of programmes including decent homes and supporting people that she thinks will see cuts.

‘What else might be threatened? Any barely reported project that doesn’t touch the great majority. Expect few cuts to alarm the 70% of homeowners, the fit, the employed and all who live where schools are good and streets clean and safe: those programmes below the political radar of the comfortable would be first to go.’