A former Cabinet minister has warned that the debate over public spending needed to "deepen a little bit" because people expected honesty about future cuts.
Former defence secretary John Hutton said it was not possible to continue to "spend as if nothing has happened" as "people know something big-time has changed".
Mr Hutton resigned from the Government last month during Gordon Brown's Cabinet reshuffle and insisted he quit for "personal, not political" reasons.
In recent weeks, the Prime Minister and Conservative leader David Cameron have repeatedly clashed over public spending, with Mr Cameron publicly questioning the honesty of Mr Brown's claims.
Mr Hutton waded into the debate, telling BBC1's Andrew Marr Show: "I think fundamentally people know their belts need to be tightened and I think the discipline and responsibility of politicians is to be clear about what they are going to prioritise - is it health, is it education, is it schools ... is it defence, for example.
"So I think there's going to be a very important debate in the next few months about that but politicians have to got to lead that debate and be clear with people ..."
He added: "The country expects honesty about this; they know that things are going to be tight in the next few years ...
"I think we've been clear about where the priorities are - education, welfare reform and so on - but I think this debate has got to deepen a little bit because I don't think you can go on saying we can continue to spend as if nothing has happened; people know something big-time has changed."
