George Osborne is facing a battle with the work and pensions secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, over his plan to impose an extra £12bn in welfare cuts after the next general election.
Conservative sources said Osborne's intervention – a proposal that also prompted Nick Clegg to publicly warn that the chancellor is in danger of making a "monumental mistake" – had highlighted stark differences of approach between the chancellor and Duncan Smith over how to reform Britain's social security system. Osborne demanded that roughly half of future spending cuts in the next parliament come from the welfare budget.{jcomments on}
"There is a difference in narrative between George Osborne and Iain Duncan Smith who both want to cut back the welfare state," one senior figure said. "There is the lopping off narrative of George Osborne and then there is the narrative of making people less reliant on the welfare state by making work pay. But that takes a long time."
Osborne alarmed Duncan Smith and angered Clegg when he said on Monday that £25bn in spending reductions, due to be imposed between 2016-17 and 2017-18, would have to include £12bn in welfare cuts. The move risks creating a cabinet row that runs beyond Monday's public spat.
Read the full story on the Guardian website
Thanks to Pre-Raphaelite Sister for spotting this for us
