8 days is a long time in politics

Is it really all of eight days since George Osborne reminded the Conservative conference: "This June we told the truth and said publicly that whoever won the election would have to cut government spending"?

Yes, eight days on, a news release arrives in the inbox from the Welsh Conservatives. Headlined "WORST EVER SETTLEMENT FOR COUNCILS" it criticises the Welsh Assembly Government's local government budget.

“This increase marks a record low with regards to local government settlements in Wales," says Tory Assembly Member Darren Millar. “This is going to put even more stress on the already strained budgets of councils throughout the country."

This year's settlement may or may not be "the worst ever". Does anyone really think that if George Osborne is Chancellor 12 months hence - and has held his promised summer emergency Budget - the Welsh Assembly Government will have more cash to splash on councils? Or that local government in England will be spared Tory cuts?

The devolution settlement means WAG has no responsibility for raising its own funds - giving opposition parties equal freedom to criticise Ministers who fail to cough up the cash whatever their colleagues in Westminster say.

You can see why Unionist parties in Scotland - and figures close to Gordon Brown such as Ed Balls - believe political spending should be accompanied by some responsibility for raising the cash involved.

Cutting it fine

The Lib Dems are not the only party looking at defence cuts.

The Telegraph reports that the shadow Chancellor, George Osborne, has a range of military projects in his sights, among them the A400M airlifter, the wings for which would be made at Broughton, that favoured photo-opportunity for every politician heading to North-East Wales.

The A400M is another of the projects Vince Cable would scrap, according to his "first, rough attempt".

Honestly.....

I returned to the news treadmill after two days filming out of the office to discover my inbox bursting with Welsh Conservative indignation over the consequences of Alistair Darling's Budget.

"MINISTERS MUST BE HONEST ABOUT ASSEMBLY BUDGET CUTS" screamed one press release.

Another from the same source quotes the Tories' leader in the Welsh Assembly warning of "cuts which will have damaging consequences for jobs and services across Wales".

The "cuts" in question start to bite next year, by which time David Cameron may be Prime Minister.

The Welsh Tories appear so entrenched in an opposition mentality they find it difficult to adjust to the prospect of government - or Mr Cameron's "government of thrift" message has yet to filter down the M4.

At Westminster, the only Tory spending commitments are to protect the NHS budget and maintain international development spending. Everything else is up for grabs.

It's only honest to point out that, in the current economic climate, whoever wins the election next year the chances are public spending will be squeezed even more in the years to come.

As Andrew Rawnsley writes (from a Westminster perspective): "The politics of the post-New Labour era will be about how to ration a shrinking cake."

And if Nick Bourne rings up George Osborne, he may discover that the next Conservative Government is likely to favour smaller slices all round.