Anger over 'offensive' ideas to save public cash

Published on Tuesday 13 July 2010 20:03

MINISTERS have been urged to sterilise the poor and bring back the workhouse to save public money.

Shadow Treasury minister Angela Eagle said these were among a number of "racist and offensive" suggestions put forward to the Treasury's Spending Challenge website.

It was opened to the public last week as a means of coming up with ideas for savings.

At Commons question time, Ms Eagle demanded the website be moderated and offensive "drivel" removed immediately.

Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander told her: "Of course these aren't ideas I would wish to promote."

But he defended the consultation process and insisted Labour had yet to come up with a single idea to cutback on the burgeoning budget deficit.

Ms Eagle said the website currently featured "such issues as sterilising the poor, reopening the workhouses, asking single parents who can't finance their children to terminate the pregnancy, benefit claimants to work in sweatshops and immigrants to be moved out of cities".

She asked: "Are you happy that this kind of drivel, racist and offensive, is being hosted by one of your websites? Will you give an undertaking to the House that this should be moderated as a site and this stuff should be removed immediately."

Mr Alexander said the consultation with public sector workers had brought forward 66,000 ideas on savings.

"That is a valuable part of the spending review process. We haven't had a single idea from Labour about how they would make savings, let alone the apology that is warranted for the terrible mess they left the economy in," he said.