UK public spending to fall to lowest in 80 years: watchdog

[LONDON] British finance minister George Osborne's latest update to his austerity plans are set to take public spending as a share of the economy to its lowest in 80 years, the country's fiscal watchdog said on Wednesday.

"The government's policy assumption for total spending implies that the burden of the remaining consolidation would fall overwhelmingly on the day-to-day running costs of the public services - and more so after this Autumn Statement," the Office for Budget Responsibility said.

The OBR, an independent public body, said Britain's strong growth this year was due to cyclical factors, rather than long-run factors, and that as a consequence future growth would be lower than it had previously forecast.

REUTERS