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Comprehensive Spending Review

The recent autumn forecasts for economic growth have been massively pared down since the Conservative-coalition Budget. The current deficit is £30 billion less than was forecast in the pre-Budget report. The answer to the hon. Gentleman’s question is that there would have been more growth, and savings would have been spread out over time, so less harm would have been inflicted on communities and we would not have an extra £6 billion a year cost when unemployment goes up by a million—that is how it adds up.