Financial Times FT.com

UK government spending

Senior Tory sees ‘two years of pain’

By Jean Eaglesham, George Parker and Nicholas Timmins in Manchester

Published: October 7 2009 23:33 | Last updated: October 7 2009 23:33

Britain could be booming by the end of the first term of a Conservative government after enduring “a couple of years of significant pain”, according to the shadow cabinet member responsible for cutting public spending.

Philip Hammond, shadow Treasury chief secretary, told the Financial Times that within five years Britain could be enjoying growth similar to the mid-1990s, when the economy raced ahead at an average 3.4 per cent a year.

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