A total of 849,000 public sector jobs were ‘manufactured’ under New Labour to help secure future votes.

These jobs could now disappear and most of the general public would not notice a drop in service levels (was it really that bad in 1997?).

Some people attempt to trivialise the pensions issue but the facts are stark: in 2005/06 the pension shortfall sat at £200 million, before increasing to £5.6 billion in 2010/11.

By 2016/17 it is expected to hit £15.4 billion, an 77-fold increase in 11 years.

The cost of this huge shortfall will end up falling on taxpayers if the government fails to bring in further reforms, and it will cost every household the equivalent of £1,230 a year.

The current proposed cuts are just scratching at the surface of what needs to be done. In the meantime, the country’s debt levels continue to escalate.

liddle ‘un (via website).