The one thing all three major political parties agreed on at the last election was that there would be significant cuts to public spending.  The Labour Party estimated around £40 Billion of cuts but refused to say what they would be.  The Liberal Democrats said there would be suts but not immediately and they also seemed unable to say where the axe would fall.  The Conservatives were pilloried for saying there would be cuts following an emergency budget within the first 50 days and that only the NHS and International Aid would be ring fenced (but that both would need to be more efficient).

I still receive lots of emails and letters from local residents, some of whom assume I am actually now their MP.  Most accept the measures taken by the Chancellor, even though they are having to sacrifice things in their daily lives when they could not possibly be to blame for the deep mess the country's finances are in.  Yet some seem to believe the Labour fantasy that the government can and should carry on spending as if there's no tomorrow, raising taxes only on the rich and forcing ever greater numbers of people to depend on state handouts (even those earning significant sums of money).

It's time to face facts.  This country has been living beyond its means for far too long.  Too many people are employed directly or indirectly by the State, too many others rely on state spending for their living and far too many more are economically inactive or reliant on welfare.  It's nothing new to say to people that they should travel to where they can find work - it's just that now the government will make it easier to do so, and tenants will not lose their homes.  It's not unreasonable to ask people to live within their means - and that includes not having children they can't afford to raise.  And it's not too much to ask that those who expect to receive welfare demonstrate they are making every effort to help themselves out of their situation. 

It's reality time.  The millions employed in private companies have endured spending cuts, pension raids, salary freezes and job cuts for years.  Now the public sector must take its share of the pain. The government is doing everything possible to protect the least well paid and to safeguard as many jobs as possible, but we are all in this together.  I suspect that London will, as usual, suffer more than its fair share of the pain but we're used to that.  I applaud the coalition government for having the courage to make the tough decisions now rather than waiting to be forced to do so when time runs out.  In time I believe we'll all gain from these difficult decisions, but everyone will feel the pain in the meantime.