Public spending cuts that would do us all a favour

There is general agreement that the UK’s public sector finances are in a critical state. The UK is forecast to borrow £178bn this financial year, with net public sector debt expected to reach well over 50% of GDP1. In the next financial year borrowing is expected to be around £170bn – equivalent to more than £2,700 for every UK resident for just one year’s debt.

This briefing identifies ways in which environmentally damaging spending and tax anomalies can be rectified to the benefit of the public sector balance sheet.

Drawing on Greenpeace's own research as well as other sources, we have highlighted potential cuts that would save more than £32bn over the lifespan of the next Parliament, with considerable further savings over subsequent years – removing damaging public sector subsidies, white elephants and outdated tax breaks from the nation’s balance sheet.