Mamora Man puts it far better than my rant on the thread about the demos....It's worth a C&P By the end of 2009 UK Gov't was funding approximately 25% of its annual spend with debt. The debt was ratcheting upwards and the cost of servicing that debt was adding further to it - borrowing money to repay debt is not only Alice in Wonderland economics it leads to higher interest rates for gov't borrowing and the whole merry go round becomes an unstoppable positive feedback loop that, as S. American and other countries discovered in the 80's, leads inevitably to international loan default. Even with the coalition economic programme National Debt will still increase over the next 4 years, not decrease, but at a slower rate. In the subsequent coalition / Conservative government UK might be able to reduce its national debt and the cost of servicing it. As Labour and any informed commentator knows - total government spending will be higher at the end of this parliament than at the beginning. These are not savage ideological cuts that will take UK back to the dark ages, the coalition's programme represents some minimalist trimming of expenditure to bring government income and expenditure back into a form of balance by 2015. I personally would posit a far greater cut back of state spending - but I detest the willful misrepresentation of today's true position by left leaning commentators. They are perpetuating a con trick on the population that extending gov't debt and spending is a cost (and pain) free exercise and, conveniently, forgetting that the last Labour administration was planning almost identical cost reduction programmes - albeit over a slightly more extended period. Now Labour and its cheerleaders appear bereft of any rational plan, except opportunistic cat calling.