CHANCELLOR Rachel Reeves has ordered 5 per cent cuts across government departments in an “efficiency drive” that resembles austerity.

Announcing the spending review, Ms Reeves said: “I have no doubt that we can find efficiency savings within government spending of 5 per cent and I’m determined to do so.”

She said the cuts would be secured by cracking down on waste and focusing on the five “milestone” policies Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer outlined in his government relaunch last week.

Those were boosting living standards, building more homes, cutting NHS waiting lists, ensuring children are ready for school and raising military spending to 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product.

The 5 per cent reductions are to be achieved over three years, the Treasury said, adding that the Chancellor will “work with departments to prioritise spending that supports the milestones to deliver the plan,” indicating that areas not a “milestone,” such as welfare, will be squeezed.

Ms Reeves denied that her move replicated a similar announcement by her predecessor George Osborne at the height of Tory austerity.

Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay said: “Labour call their 5 per cent cuts across government departments ‘efficiency savings.’  We call it what it is: cuts to services.

“This amounts to the continuation of the same damaging, unpopular and unnecessary policy that has so devastated our country over many years.”

PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said: “The Chancellor says she will listen to bankers, think tanks and the private sector but she won’t listen to us or our members — the very people who have the specialist knowledge vital to keep public services running.
 
“If she wants to reform the Civil Service for the better, she should listen to the grafters, not the grifters. She should be working with us, not against us.”