George Osborne will today take the first steps towards the heaviest cuts in public spending in modern British political history.
The Chancellor is to set out the timetable for a spending review which is expected to result in tens of billions of pounds being slashed from Whitehall budgets in the autumn.
The extent of the financial squeeze will be underlined by David Cameron, in a warning of “painful times” ahead. But the Prime Minister will insist that the Government cannot duck difficult decisions over reducing the £156 billion ($339 billion) budget deficit.
Osborne and his Liberal Democrat deputy, Danny Alexander, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, will promise the review will lead to a “revolution” in public services – and insist frontline services will not be affected.
But the coalition Government’s words will be seen as a barely coded warning the state will have to withdraw from areas regarded as non-essential – with big job losses likely.
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