LABOUR and the Conservatives are engaged in a “conspiracy of silence” about public spending after the election, the head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said.

This week’s budget was not transparent about the significant cuts to public spending necessary to ensure the government meets its fiscal rule to have debt falling in five years’ time, IFS director Paul Johnson warned.

Ministers set out plans involving cutting spending on unprotected departments — including courts, prisons and local councils — by around £20 billion, cutting public investment by £18bn a year in real terms.