Before the general election, then Chancellor Alistair Darling proclaimed he would reduce the public debt by cutting deeper than Margaret Thatcher. That turned out not to be a major vote-winner. Mentioning the Iron Lady to justify public policy is never likely to inspire many on the left.
However, Darling’s role in steering the country through the toughest recession since the Great Depression has not been properly recognised by much of the British media. And notwithstanding the rhetoric coming out of the Conservative-led Government, the left should remember that its Labour predecessor was making inroads in cutting the level of borrowing and supporting the fragile recovery.
Many politicians remain too scared to point the finger of blame at the City financiers for the economic crisis. Instead public sector workers and services are being made to bear the brunt of it.
The guilty men (they are mainly men) in the Square Mile have come out of George Osborne’s emergency Budget relatively unscathed. They have scarcely acknowledged their culpability for the disaster they inflicted on everyone else.
It was looking as if the economy was on the slow road to recovery. Then, on July 8, the International Monetary Fund downgraded its previous forecast for growth in this country for the next year. With cuts in spending and little investment, the risk of a double dip recession has increased.
As the coalition Government implements its regressive and unfair austerity measures, which it claims are necessary to cut the deficit quickly and get the economy moving, it is the most vulnerable in our society who are footing the bill.
Those who rely on public services are feeling the pinch more than anyone. Increasing VAT by 2.5 per cent at the start of next year will entrench people below the poverty line even further. Having to choose between food and fuel should not be a decision that anyone has to make in 21st century Britain.
In times of economic downturn, it is inevitable that public services will be stretched. But they will also be needed more than in prosperous times.
Redundancies in the private and now the public sector increase the numbers of those claiming the Jobseekers’ Allowance, housing benefits and other forms of welfare support. Of course, the strain on the public purse is greater. But the solution cannot be to hit the disadvantaged even harder.
In a period of mass unemployment, there is likely to be an increase in mental health problems – which the National Health Service needs the resources to treat. In times like these, “compassionate” Conservatives should not be cutting vital services which are lifelines for those who use them.
It has been forecast that five million people will be on social housing waiting lists by the end of this year. Over the past decade, house prices have risen by 156 per cent. Wages have simply not kept pace.
The national minimum wage, introduced in 1998, was important for improving the standards and conditions of many workers. However, as the prices of commodities have risen and continue to rise, the minimum wage has stayed relatively low.
In October, the minimum wage for adults aged over 22 will rise by 2.2 per cent, making it £5.93 an hour. At the same time, rents have increased by an average of £23 a week – taking the average rent to £673 a month.
The Chancellor’s swingeing cut of 10 per cent to housing benefits is bad news for many claimants. As many as 18,645 households in London could be adversely affected. Even Tory London Mayor Boris Johnson has branded the cuts “draconian”.
In 2005, the administration of his Labour predecessor, Ken Livingstone, set up the Living Wage Unit. This conducted research which concluded people living and working in London need to be paid higher than the minimum wage in order to stay out of poverty.
After that, many public and private sector employers improved the pay of their staff, which resulted in a more productive workforce with an improved morale. Now this is at risk.
Employers should commit to paying wages that cover basic human needs, as well taking into account the work-home balance for both men and women. The state should not need to subsidise the living costs of working people in an industrialised country such as ours.
Raising the minimum wage might be to the distaste of the Conservative Party, but it would take the burden away from the taxpayer and pass it onto the employer.
Without tackling the sub-standard living conditions of the working poor, it is hard to imagine the Government even beginning to tackle long-term unemployment and the “dependency culture” that do nothing but harm our society.
