The Cabinet Secretary has blocked the publication of a completed civil service costings analysis of Labour Party policy according to reports after the Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell demanded it be pulled in a morning meeting with Treasury top civil servant.
Labour had objected to civil servants being used to scrutinise their policy so close to an election and according to the BBC, opposition sources pointed out that they have repeatedly asked for the independent Office of Budgetary Responsibility to have this role for all parties, not civil servants working to Government Spad assumptions.
Government ministers were hoping to be able to claim their costings of Labour policy are “official” and hoped to try to push the document through before the purdah period.
