Cable warns UK 'unprepared' for impact of spending cuts

Business secretary Vince Cable has warned politicians have not done enough to emphasise the scale of problems facing the UK economy or prepare consumers for the impact of spending cuts.

In an interview with the Guardian, Cable said the public is not ready for the effect on living standards when the spending cuts begin to bite later this year. Cable added a 20% devaluation of sterling against other major currencies will also hit consumers. "We have had a very profound crisis which is going to take a long time to dig out of," he said. "Britain is no longer one of the world's price setters and it is difficult to accept Britain was operating a model that failed. "We had the complete collapse of a model based on consumer spending, a housing bubble, an overweight ban...