The UK’s Conservative-led coalition has ushered in a new era of public sector austerity in Britain, outlining plans for ￡81bn ($128.4bn) in cuts to government spending which far outstrip measures taken by other advanced economies.

Declaring that “today is the day where Britain steps back from the brink”, George Osborne, the chancellor of the exchequer, revealed dramatic reductions to several key departments over the next four years, a ￡7bn fall in welfare support and confirmed that about 490,000 jobs would be lost in the public sector by 2014-15.

Saying that job losses were “unavoidable when the government runs out of money”, Mr Osborne insisted that the coalition government would protect most of the schools budget and maintain its outlays on health and overseas aid.