Shadow chancellor Ed Balls today claimed local government service budgets ‘would barely exist' and other unprotected areas of public service expenditure face ‘extreme' and ‘unprecedented' spending cuts' over the next Parliament.

In a speech made in central London, Mr Balls argued Labour Party analysis of the Autumn Statement reveals the real scale of cutbacks is £70bn, more than double the £30bn fiscal consolidation claimed by the Conservatives, and would result in larger spending cuts in the next four years than in the last five.