Tories splashing out to fund 'decade of renewal' for UK

Voters in the United Kingdom will soon find out whether the nation's new government will put its money where its mouth is and live up to expensive promises made during the general election campaign.

Sajid Javid, the chancellor of the exchequer, says he wants a March 11 budget he announced on Tuesday to kick-start a decade of renewal, and to unleash the UK's potential once it leaves the European Union on Jan 31.

The Conservative Party－also known as the Tories－returned to power on Dec 12 with a greatly increased majority, having promised voters not only a rapid exit from the European Union but also more spending in poorer areas, such as the formerly industrial northeast.

The Guardian newspaper says Javid is likely to announce a shakeup of his department, the Treasury, to ensure money can be borrowed more easily, and allocated throughout the nation more evenly.

The paper says Javid is likely to signal billions of pounds of spending on health, public infrastructure, and the environment. But he will have to work against the backdrop of a slowing economy that has left the government collecting 50 billion pounds ($66 billion) less in taxes than it needs to spend this year, creating a budget deficit. Hence the need to increase borrowing.

"People across the country have told us that they want change. We've listened and will now deliver," Javid said on Tuesday. "With this budget, we will unleash Britain's potential－uniting our great country, opening a new chapter for our economy and ushering in a decade of renewal."

The annual budget, which sets out the government's spending priorities and taxation changes, had been scheduled for November but was deferred because of the election campaign.

Javid is likely to be especially generous to people living in the Midlands and the north of England, where the party picked up seats traditionally won by the Labour Party.

He is also likely to ramp up spending on the police and new hospitals, and make it possible for people on low incomes to earn more before paying income tax.

The BBC noted that Javid says he will spend an extra 100 billion pounds on infrastructure in the coming years.

The left-leaning Mirror newspaper quoted shadow chancellor John McDonnell as saying: "After a decade of wrecking the economy, we can have no confidence in a Tory government delivering the scale of investment needed for renewal."