In his budget speech on 22 June 2010, George Osborne – the then Conservative chancellor – announced the deepest period of cuts to public service spending since the second world war.
Osbourne said his plans would be fair and would protect “the most vulnerable in society” while eliminating the government’s budget deficit. But in the 10 years since, libraries and Sure Start centres have closed, housing benefits have been frozen or cut, and schools have had to fundraise to provide pupils with basic supplies – with Labour-held local authorities hit harder than Conservative-run councils.
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