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London, England, United Kingdom (AHN) – Britain’s $124.5 billion (83 billion pounds) spending cuts got the support of the International Monetary Fund. Chancellor George Osborne cited Monday the fund’s statement that the coalition government’s cuts and tax increases would not be a hindrance to the United Kingdom’s economic recovery.

IMF said the British economy is on the road to recovery, unemployment has stabilized and the health of the country’s financial sector has improved.

The massive spending cuts, which range from 25 to 40 percent of budgets of government agencies, have been heavily criticized by various sectors in Britain. Several groups even planned massive strikes and civil unrest to protest the cuts.

Osborne belied claims by his predecessor, Alistair Darling, that the spending cuts were politically motivated.

The IMF, in its yearly state of the nation review of Britain, reduced its 2011 growth forecast for London to 2 percent from 2.1 percent on account of an expected damper effect of fiscal tightening on short-term growth. However, the IMF said other sectors would be the drivers of the British economy’s recovery.

The IMF said cost cutting would reduce the risk of a loss of confidence in public finances and supports a balanced recovery. The international body also recommended longer public sector wage freezes, civil service pension reform and means-testing benefits which would have minimum impact on demand, but would result to significant fiscal savings in the long-term.

Osborne pointed out that aside from IMF, the coalition’s spending cut was supported by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the European Commission, the Confederation of British Industry and the Bank of England. He stressed that if Britain would veer away from the course set by the new government, Britain would be headed back for a disaster in the form of economic instability.

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