Spending Review: Osborne wields the axe but Queen gets a pay rise

Chancellor George Osborne announced a wave of cost-cutting measures during yesterday's eagerly awaited Spending Review, which will aim to save the government around £11.5bn a year.

Heavy cuts to individual department budgets, in the region of 10%, were made to address the UK's growing debt burden. The private sector was hit with pay freezes and council budgets were cut across the country. Osborne also announced benefit cuts, introducing an annual welfare cap which he said will save the government £4bn a year. The Chancellor described the measures as tough but fair, arguing the coalition government had "taken our economy back from the brink of bankruptcy" since it came into office in 2010. "We act on behalf of every taxpayer and every future taxpayer who wa...