When the Liberal Democrats came in to government it was to face a spiralling budget which was out of control and a growing mountain of debt to fund it. It is always easy to spend money and be popular, but far harder to reduce that spending to sensible, manageable levels. We’ve already seen the effects on other European neighbours and even the down grading of the USA.
So have the austerity changes made a difference? Well, the newspapers say it all:

Independent: Borrowing £5bn less than expected
The Government modestly undershot its expectations for public borrowing in the last financial year by nearly £5 billion, official figures revealed today.
Guardian:
The government received a boost today when public borrowing for the last financial year came in nearly £5bn lower than expected and retail sales in March showed a surprise rise.