Clegg 'to slash cost of politics'

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has set out plans to "cut the cost of politics" by nearly £2bn.

His plans include closing 10 government departments and 90 quangos, axing spin doctors and no longer paying Opposition leader's wages out of the public purse.

Speaking on the second day of his party's conference, Mr Clegg said: "Central government in Whitehall is too big, too powerful and too expensive."

The £2bn savings would be enough to renovate 200 schools a year, he said.

Cutting the cost of politics is one of the key themes of Tory leader David Cameron who has said he would cut ministerial salaries and reduce the number of MPs, as well as slashing quangos.

Labour has also vowed to squeeze Whitehall spending.

Mr Clegg is using what will be his party's final conference before a general election to emphasise the need for what he has called "savage" public spending cuts - although he toned this down to "serious" cuts in a speech to party activists on Saturday evening.

Spin doctors

He risked the wrath of his party's left wing in the speech by saying he may be forced to drop its long-standing commitment to free university tuition.

But his proposals to cut the cost of politics are likely to go down better with the party faithful.

Mr Clegg says he would freeze ministers' salaries and cut the number of them on the government payroll from more than 100 to 73.

He would also halve the number of departmental spin doctors.

He told BBC News: "We could save billions by scrapping entire government departments and culling quangos.

"Doing politics differently and saving money means dismantling Labour's spin machine by halving the number of government press officers and making political parties pay for their own special advisers.

"The nearly £2bn savings in our proposals could be invested in public services and would be enough to renovate 200 schools every year."

Pay cap

The Liberal Democrats went into the 2005 election promising to close eight government departments, including what was then the Department of Trade and Industry, but the latest proposals go slightly further.

Mr Clegg says he wants to cut the number of government departments from 24 to 14.

He also published a list of quangos he wants to see culled.

These include regional development agencies - a long-standing policy commitment - but also less well-known bodies such as the School Food Trust, Teachers TV, the Independent Advisory Group on Teenage Pregnancy, the Civil Nuclear Constabulary and the Covent Garden Market Authority.

The document also proposes a reduction in the budget of the Serious and Organised Crime Agency.

Health spokesman Norman Lamb will also call for quango chiefs' pay to be capped at the same rate as the prime minister's.

In a keynote conference speech he will promise to cut the size of the Department of Health by half and to scrap strategic health authorities.

The party says it would save £500m by reducing health quangos.

Mr Lamb will claim health quangos alone now cost around £1.2bn a year and employ 25,000 people - and that 24 of their chief executives are paid more than Gordon Brown.

Mr Lamb wants to give ward sisters more control over their budgets and greater responsibility for the staff who work with them.

He will also propose recruiting 3,000 more midwives and health visitors to tackle the current shortfall.