Friday 27 April 2012
CHANGE MUST HAPPEN NOW ON HOUSING
One of the biggest post bag issues for me, like many MPs, is housing which is why Ministerial Questions on the subject is always well attended.
With Britain facing the biggest housing crisis in a generation Labour MPs are demanding to know why, when the Tory-led Government promised change on housing, nothing is happening.
In fact their economic and housing policies are making things much worse.
House building is down, homelessness is up, private sector rents are unaffordable for far too many people and we have a market where too people can’t get mortgages. No wonder the construction industry is on its knees.
And yet, independent economic analysis has shown clearly that for every £ spent in construction, £2.84 is generated for the wider economy. That is why it's the government should be doing its utmost to switch its current spending towards the more productive capital spending.
This clearly demonstrates that the Tories are out of touch on housing.
Labour will face the housing crisis head on – building more affordable homes to buy and rent, helping homeowners make home improvements and making the private rented sector fit for families.
REFORMING CHILDCARE CAN BOOST OUR ECONOMY AND HELP WORKING MUMS
Amid all the talk of Rupert and James Murdoch this week, it is easy to forget the news story that will most impact on the lives of people in Derby; that the UK is officially back in recession.
Labour has consistently warned David Cameron and his Chancellor George Osborne that their cuts go too far, too fast and will lead us into a double-dip recession. But instead of focusing on a plan for jobs and growth, our economy has actually shrunk and women have been amongst those hardest hit by the Tories’ economic policies.
New figures from the Office of National Statistics show that in the last quarter, 34,000 women have given up work altogether - this is the fastest rise in female worklessness for almost a year. Over the past 18 months, an additional 32,000 women have chosen to stay at home to look after their children because they cannot afford to work, according to research by Aviva.
Labour did much to help working mums during our time in government, including setting up 3,500 Sure Start children's centres which were heralded by the charity 4Children as ‘one of the greatest achievements of modern government’, but more needs to be done which is why Labour has launched a major review of childcare provision.
Labour’s Childcare Commission will look at how we can provide a high quality, cost effective childcare service fit for the 21st century, partly by looking at examples from other countries. In Norway, parents can access cheap, high quality childcare from birth to age five and in Denmark childcare is free to the lowest income families. The results of such policies are clear - both Denmark and Norway have 10% more women in work than the UK - and worth considering further.
There is a strong economic case for reforming the childcare system. International evidence has shown that having more women in work boosts growth and generates revenues that cover the costs of childcare.
Instead of the current Tory approach where an average family with children will be hit with a £580 bill because of tax and benefit changes coming into effect this month, we need a tax and benefit system that doesn’t punish mums who decide to work.
Reforming childcare is of huge importance, both for supporting economic growth and for helping hard-working families, and we all stand to benefit from such change.
Wednesday 25 April 2012
ED BALLS RESPONDS TO NEWS OF DOUBLE DIP RECESSION
Ed Balls MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, in response to today’s economic growth figures, said:
“David Cameron and George Osborne complacently boasted their austerity plan had taken our economy out of the danger zone, but their failed policies have plunged us back into recession.
“We consistently warned that their austerity plan was self-defeating and that cutting spending and raising taxes too far and too fast would badly backfire. David Cameron and George Osborne arrogantly and complacently dismissed people who warned of the risk of a double-dip recession and the country is now paying a very heavy price. Their economic credibility is now in tatters.
“The reason why last month’s Budget is such a disaster for Britain is not just because it unfairly cut taxes for millionaires while clobbering families and pensioners, it also failed to come up with the plan for jobs and growth Britain desperately needs and we have been urging.
“Not only has our economy shrunk in the last two quarters - a 0.5 per cent contraction, which means we are in recession - but our economy has actually shrunk by 0.2 per cent in the year and a half since George Osborne’s spending review.
“And far from the Eurozone being to blame for Britain’s woes, it was only growth in the EU and the rest of the world which kept us from going into recession earlier. Excluding exports, the domestic UK economy has now been in recession for over a year.
“The Chancellor needs to explain why America, which has taken a much more balanced approach with a jobs plan to boost growth, has more than recovered all the output it lost in the global recession while our economy is shrinking again.
“The price of this recession is billions more borrowing to pay for economic failure. The Government’s pledge to balance the books by 2015 is now in tatters and the next Labour government will have to clear up George Osborne’s economic mess.
“The longer this out of touch and incompetent Government sticks with these failed policies, the more damage will be done.”
“David Cameron and George Osborne complacently boasted their austerity plan had taken our economy out of the danger zone, but their failed policies have plunged us back into recession.
“We consistently warned that their austerity plan was self-defeating and that cutting spending and raising taxes too far and too fast would badly backfire. David Cameron and George Osborne arrogantly and complacently dismissed people who warned of the risk of a double-dip recession and the country is now paying a very heavy price. Their economic credibility is now in tatters.
“The reason why last month’s Budget is such a disaster for Britain is not just because it unfairly cut taxes for millionaires while clobbering families and pensioners, it also failed to come up with the plan for jobs and growth Britain desperately needs and we have been urging.
“Not only has our economy shrunk in the last two quarters - a 0.5 per cent contraction, which means we are in recession - but our economy has actually shrunk by 0.2 per cent in the year and a half since George Osborne’s spending review.
“And far from the Eurozone being to blame for Britain’s woes, it was only growth in the EU and the rest of the world which kept us from going into recession earlier. Excluding exports, the domestic UK economy has now been in recession for over a year.
“The Chancellor needs to explain why America, which has taken a much more balanced approach with a jobs plan to boost growth, has more than recovered all the output it lost in the global recession while our economy is shrinking again.
“The price of this recession is billions more borrowing to pay for economic failure. The Government’s pledge to balance the books by 2015 is now in tatters and the next Labour government will have to clear up George Osborne’s economic mess.
“The longer this out of touch and incompetent Government sticks with these failed policies, the more damage will be done.”
Sunday 22 April 2012
MORE EVIDENCE THAT THE TORIES CANNOT BE TRUSTED WITH THE NHS
FIGURES released by the Department of Health have shown waiting times for NHS treatment are on the rise – with people in Derby suffering from the increases.
Since the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition took control of Britain, the numbers of people waiting more than 18 weeks for treatment have risen by a shocking 27 per cent.
The numbers of people waiting longer than 18 weeks for treatment in Derby have rocketed during the same period.
Just 3.6 per cent of patients in Derby waited more than 18 weeks during Labour’s last month in Government. But that figure had risen to an incredible 15.7 per cent in February.
The Government has spent so long pushing to get its Health Bill through Parliament, against the advice of health professionals, that it has allowed waiting times to slip once again.
Labour left the lowest NHS waiting times since records began but, under the Tories, it looks like the NHS is heading straight back to the bad old days of the last time they were in Government.
Patients in Derby are paying the price for a disastrous decision to reorganise the NHS at a time of financial stress.
These figures are a huge embarrassment for a Prime Minister who promised to keep NHS waiting times low.
At PMQs on 8 February this year David Cameron said: “We are putting the money in, we are putting the reform in, the number of operations is up, the waiting times are down, the NHS is improving, and that is the way it is going to stay.”
At PMQs the week before he said: “The right hon. Gentleman should look at what is actually happening in the health service. Waiting times are down”.
He is also on record saying: “We will not break up or hinder efficient and integrated care - we will improve it.” He claimed: “We will not lose control of waiting times – we will ensure they are kept low. And he has also said: “We will not cut spending on the NHS - we will increase it."
Even on his own test, he is failing patients and the public. It has been said before, but these latest figures confirm that you cannot trust the Tories (or their Lib Dem poodles) with the NHS.
Saturday 21 April 2012
LABOUR FIGHTS THE TAX RAID ON PENSIONERS
On Thursday, Labour forced a vote in the House of Commons on the controversial ‘Granny Tax’. Unfortunately, thanks to Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs, including the six Derbyshire Tory MPs, the amendment was defeated.
The Derbyshire Tories roll call of shame is as follows:
Patrick McLoughlin – Derbyshire Dales MP voted in favour of the ‘Granny Tax’.
Nigel Mills – Amber Valley MP voted in favour of the ‘Granny Tax’.
Jessica Lee – Erewash MP voted in favour of the ‘Granny Tax’.
Andrew Bingham – High Peak MP voted in favour of the ‘Granny Tax’.
Pauline Latham – Mid Derbyshire MP did not vote.
Heather Wheeler – South Derbyshire MP did not vote.
I voted alongside other Labour MPs against measures announced in the Budget which will see, from next April, pensioners who pay income tax losing on average £83 a year and those soon to turn 65 losing up to £323 – while 14,000 people earning over £1 million receive a tax cut.
It can’t be right that while putting up taxes for pensioners, David Cameron is giving millionaires a tax cut.
These are tough times, and the Government should be doing all it can. But David Cameron and the Tories are out of touch, making things harder not easier. The same goes for Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats, whose duplicity knows no bounds.
Labour would stop this raid on pensioners, and block the £40,000 tax cut for millionaires. The message is clear – only Labour will stand up for pensioners and working people in Derby.
LABOUR STANDS UP FOR DECENCY WHILE THE TORIES & LIB DEMS PRIORITISE THE RICH OVER EVERYONE ELSE
On living standards: Labour would stop the Government’s raid on pensioners and block its £40,000 tax cut for 14,000 millionaires.
On jobs: Labour would tax bank bonuses to guarantee 100,000 unemployed young people real jobs.
On the economy: Labour’s five point plan for growth and jobs would cut VAT temporarily to put £450 back in families’ pockets and kick-start the economy.
On the NHS: Labour will stand up for our NHS and protect 6,000 nurses’ jobs.
Keeping our communities safe: Labour councils will back neighbourhood policing and pledge to take strong action against local crime and anti-social behaviour.
Under the Tories nothing is changing because they put the wrong people first
On living standards: Giving a tax cut to 14,000 millionaires of more than £40,000 each while putting up taxes for nearly 4.5 million pensioners.
On jobs: Failing to act whilst 1 million young people are out of work, on benefits
On the economy: Going too far and too fast in raising taxes and cutting spending. As a result growth has stalled, and George Osborne is having to borrow £150bn more than he planned.
On crime and the police: Cutting 16,000 police officers and weakening action on anti-social behaviour, while adding layers of bureaucracy.
On the NHS: Putting the NHS at risk with a damaging reorganisation that will harm patient care.
THIS WEEK SAW DAVID CAMERON’S BUDGET CONTINUING TO UNRAVEL
This week in Parliament has been dominated by the unravelling of David Cameron’s Budget.
The Tories and their Liberal Democrat allies are asking millions of families and pensioners’ to pay more, while at the same time giving millionaires a tax cut. But this week’s “omnishambles” saw David Cameron and George Osborne putting 20 per cent VAT on hot pasties, static caravans and
church improvements, while giving the very richest earners a £3 billion tax cut.
David Cameron promised change, but nothing is changing. Prices are still going up faster than wages, one million young people are out of work, and banks are still paying out big bonuses while families struggle. Nothing is changing because the Tories are putting the wrong people first – the Budget contained a £40,000 tax cut for millionaires while putting up taxes for nearly 4.5 million pensioners, and doing nothing to create the jobs and growth Britain needs.
The figures are stark. From this year, an average family will lose £511 while 14,000 millionaires will pocket a tax cut leaving them at least £40,000 better off. Labour would stop the Government’s
raid on pensioners and block its £40,000 tax cut for 14,000 millionaires. Meanwhile, we’d be taxing bankers’ bonuses to guarantee 100,000 real jobs for young unemployed people. Labour would tackle the cost of living crisis with our Action Plan for Family Budgets and get the economy moving with our Five Point Plan for Jobs and Growth.
The Elections on 3 May are vital for families and communities across England. Town Halls in some of our biggest towns and cities could change hands, and millions of people will have the chance to pass their verdict on an out of touch Tory-led Government.
The Tories and their Liberal Democrat allies are asking millions of families and pensioners’ to pay more, while at the same time giving millionaires a tax cut. But this week’s “omnishambles” saw David Cameron and George Osborne putting 20 per cent VAT on hot pasties, static caravans and
church improvements, while giving the very richest earners a £3 billion tax cut.
David Cameron promised change, but nothing is changing. Prices are still going up faster than wages, one million young people are out of work, and banks are still paying out big bonuses while families struggle. Nothing is changing because the Tories are putting the wrong people first – the Budget contained a £40,000 tax cut for millionaires while putting up taxes for nearly 4.5 million pensioners, and doing nothing to create the jobs and growth Britain needs.
The figures are stark. From this year, an average family will lose £511 while 14,000 millionaires will pocket a tax cut leaving them at least £40,000 better off. Labour would stop the Government’s
raid on pensioners and block its £40,000 tax cut for 14,000 millionaires. Meanwhile, we’d be taxing bankers’ bonuses to guarantee 100,000 real jobs for young unemployed people. Labour would tackle the cost of living crisis with our Action Plan for Family Budgets and get the economy moving with our Five Point Plan for Jobs and Growth.
The Elections on 3 May are vital for families and communities across England. Town Halls in some of our biggest towns and cities could change hands, and millions of people will have the chance to pass their verdict on an out of touch Tory-led Government.
Thursday 19 April 2012
YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT IN DERBY SEES FOURFOLD INCREASE IN LAST 12 MONTHS
ALMOST four times as many young people in Derby are stuck in a rut of long-term unemployment compared to a year ago.
The latest statistics, compiled by the House of Commons Library, reveal the depths of the unemployment slump, and show Derby being hit considerably harder than most of the UK.
These findings are a direct consequence of the Government’s policy of recklessly raising taxes and cutting spending too far and too fast.
The number of young people aged between 18 and 24 claiming Job Seekers’ Allowance for 12 months or more increased by 290 per cent between March 2011 and March 2012.
That compares to a UK average increase of 213 per cent and an East Midlands average of 212 per cent.
Derby has a history of producing a bright and aspirational workforce. But just when these young people should be developing those aspirations they are finding opportunities diminishing with every cut.
Labour’s Real Jobs Guarantee would use a tax on bankers’ bonuses to get 110,000 young people across the country into work, providing them with real jobs they would be required to take.
Instead, the Government has decided to leave those young people to rot while many of those very same super-rich bankers pay less tax than before. It’s a policy that defies belief.”
The number of people signing on is going up, we still have more than a million young people out of work, more women unemployed than since 1987 and a benefits bill that is spiralling by the day.
This Government has utterly failed to tackle Britain’s jobs emergency and is limping along in crisis. The Government’s whole policy prospectus is nothing short of an omnishambles.
The latest statistics, compiled by the House of Commons Library, reveal the depths of the unemployment slump, and show Derby being hit considerably harder than most of the UK.
These findings are a direct consequence of the Government’s policy of recklessly raising taxes and cutting spending too far and too fast.
The number of young people aged between 18 and 24 claiming Job Seekers’ Allowance for 12 months or more increased by 290 per cent between March 2011 and March 2012.
That compares to a UK average increase of 213 per cent and an East Midlands average of 212 per cent.
Derby has a history of producing a bright and aspirational workforce. But just when these young people should be developing those aspirations they are finding opportunities diminishing with every cut.
Labour’s Real Jobs Guarantee would use a tax on bankers’ bonuses to get 110,000 young people across the country into work, providing them with real jobs they would be required to take.
Instead, the Government has decided to leave those young people to rot while many of those very same super-rich bankers pay less tax than before. It’s a policy that defies belief.”
The number of people signing on is going up, we still have more than a million young people out of work, more women unemployed than since 1987 and a benefits bill that is spiralling by the day.
This Government has utterly failed to tackle Britain’s jobs emergency and is limping along in crisis. The Government’s whole policy prospectus is nothing short of an omnishambles.
Saturday 14 April 2012
PRIVATE OWNERSHIP OF FIREARMS SHOULD HAVE NO PLACE IN BRITAIN
I have just received a report from the Gun Control Network (GCN) detailing incidents involving firearms last month. It illustrates why the private possession and storage of guns should be banned. This is a summary of their report.
At least two people's lives were taken by a firearm in England, Scotland and Wales during March, while another man is in a coma after being shot.
A further 12 convictions were handed down for charges related to gun homicide during the month, and a series of inquests revealed facts about recent gun deaths.
No reports indicated that gun homicide took place during March, although a victim is in hospital in a coma after being shot in Isle of Dogs, London's finance district. Police shot and killed a man during a planned operation in Culcheth, Cheshire; the other death was due to apparent suicide in Edinburgh.
Inquests heard members of the public took their own lives in Carsington Water, Derbyshire; Burnley, Lancashire; Bishops Offley, Staffordshire; and Eastbourne, East Sussex. The weapon in all cases except the Burnley suicide was confirmed to be a shotgun.
Murder convictions were handed to a trio in Liverpool; to a man in Leeds; to a trio in north London; and to another trio in Fife, Scotland. In the first two cases the murder weapon was confirmed to be a sawn-off shotgun.
Two men were also jailed after they accidentally shot and killed people close to them. One man pleaded guilty to culpable homicide after killing a family friend in Paisley, Scotland; and another was convicted of manslaughter after shooting his friend in the chest. Both of these accidents involved young men firing shotguns.
Altogether, a shotgun was the lethal weapon used in at least eight of the 12 confirmed deaths listed above.
Most firearms assaults in England involve guns being used to threaten individuals, usually for the sake of robbery, while the fear of gunfire is also evident when citizens call police to report gun shots.
Guns used to threaten people in the UK are usually identified as an 'imitation gun' or as unidentifiable, since it's difficult to distinguish – especially for witnesses and victims of gun violence.
Many robberies take place with guns that may not contain bullets, yet the fear they instil is, of course, considerable and undeniable.
Although imitation and airguns are legal in Britain, such guns are also responsible for many of the gun injuries, to both humans and animals. Airguns are used with ruthless frequency to attack animals, including at least seven incidents resulting in death and 11 times resulting in injury during March.
In many assaults in Britain that result in severe injury, the armed individual clubs, or 'pistol-whips,' the victim. These are frequently imitation firearms, but the perpetrator is able to capitalise on the fear of a victim who is facing imminent danger of being shot.
In fact, this traumatic experience is more common in England, Scotland and Wales than non-fatal shootings.
The GCN is committed to preventing gun violence and works to pursue that objective through adjustments to the legal system. Ultimately, legally obtained guns in every country tend to find their way into the wrong hands, whether it's through theft, or simply the wrong people being given a license.
Especially concerning is the use of shotguns (often licensed to unsafe individuals or stolen), air guns (low-powered guns are legal and high-powered ones can be licensed) and realistic imitation guns (legal to possess but not to trade/manufacture).
The GCN compiles a month-by-month table to document the number of new incidents involving these weapons, as well as 'unknown' weapons.
At least two people's lives were taken by a firearm in England, Scotland and Wales during March, while another man is in a coma after being shot.
A further 12 convictions were handed down for charges related to gun homicide during the month, and a series of inquests revealed facts about recent gun deaths.
No reports indicated that gun homicide took place during March, although a victim is in hospital in a coma after being shot in Isle of Dogs, London's finance district. Police shot and killed a man during a planned operation in Culcheth, Cheshire; the other death was due to apparent suicide in Edinburgh.
Inquests heard members of the public took their own lives in Carsington Water, Derbyshire; Burnley, Lancashire; Bishops Offley, Staffordshire; and Eastbourne, East Sussex. The weapon in all cases except the Burnley suicide was confirmed to be a shotgun.
Murder convictions were handed to a trio in Liverpool; to a man in Leeds; to a trio in north London; and to another trio in Fife, Scotland. In the first two cases the murder weapon was confirmed to be a sawn-off shotgun.
Two men were also jailed after they accidentally shot and killed people close to them. One man pleaded guilty to culpable homicide after killing a family friend in Paisley, Scotland; and another was convicted of manslaughter after shooting his friend in the chest. Both of these accidents involved young men firing shotguns.
Altogether, a shotgun was the lethal weapon used in at least eight of the 12 confirmed deaths listed above.
Most firearms assaults in England involve guns being used to threaten individuals, usually for the sake of robbery, while the fear of gunfire is also evident when citizens call police to report gun shots.
Guns used to threaten people in the UK are usually identified as an 'imitation gun' or as unidentifiable, since it's difficult to distinguish – especially for witnesses and victims of gun violence.
Many robberies take place with guns that may not contain bullets, yet the fear they instil is, of course, considerable and undeniable.
Although imitation and airguns are legal in Britain, such guns are also responsible for many of the gun injuries, to both humans and animals. Airguns are used with ruthless frequency to attack animals, including at least seven incidents resulting in death and 11 times resulting in injury during March.
In many assaults in Britain that result in severe injury, the armed individual clubs, or 'pistol-whips,' the victim. These are frequently imitation firearms, but the perpetrator is able to capitalise on the fear of a victim who is facing imminent danger of being shot.
In fact, this traumatic experience is more common in England, Scotland and Wales than non-fatal shootings.
The GCN is committed to preventing gun violence and works to pursue that objective through adjustments to the legal system. Ultimately, legally obtained guns in every country tend to find their way into the wrong hands, whether it's through theft, or simply the wrong people being given a license.
Especially concerning is the use of shotguns (often licensed to unsafe individuals or stolen), air guns (low-powered guns are legal and high-powered ones can be licensed) and realistic imitation guns (legal to possess but not to trade/manufacture).
The GCN compiles a month-by-month table to document the number of new incidents involving these weapons, as well as 'unknown' weapons.
Friday 6 April 2012
OVER 3,000 DERBY FAMILIES ASSAULTED BY TORY-LIB DEM GOVT
Over 3,000 families with children in Derby will lose an average of £511 a year from changes to tax, benefits and tax credits being introduced from today, according to new figures from the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
The analysis follows last month's Budget and is on top of tax rises already introduced, like last year's VAT rise which is costing a family with children an average of £450 per year.
New government figures obtained by Labour also show that more than 3,000 families in Derby are set to lose all of their Child Tax Credit or Working Tax Credit from today.
Over 2,500 Derby families on modest and middle incomes will lose all of their Child Tax Credit – worth around £545 per year.
And over 1,000 working couples in Derby earning less than around £17,000 per year will lose all of their Working Tax Credit – worth up to £3,870 per year – if they cannot increase their working hours.
Figures also uncovered by Labour reveal that, following today’s changes to working tax credit, a couple with two children on the minimum wage will be better off quitting their jobs if they cannot work at least 19 hours per week.
The IFS figures also show that government policies mean pensioners will be an average of £315 a year worse off from April 2014 once cuts to their allowances announced in last month’s Budget – what has been dubbed the 'granny tax' – have kicked in.
Families on middle and low incomes here in Derby are facing a tax credits bombshell from David Cameron and George Osborne.
For all the government’s talk about increasing the personal allowance, these independent figures show that while they may be giving with one hand they are taking much more away with the other. That is why families with children will be an average of £511 a year worse from today.
Why is it that people earning over £150,000 soon to get a £3 billion tax cut from this out of touch government while parents on middle and modest incomes are being clobbered?
It cannot be the right priority to make thousands of families and pensioners pay more so millionaires can pay less – over £40,000 less in the case of the 14,000 richest people in the country. And it cannot be right to leave working parents trying to do the right thing better off if they quit their jobs.
It is no wonder that the Chancellor cannot bring himself to say the words 'we're all in this together' again. His empty slogan has been exposed by the reality of his policies which are hitting women harder than men and hitting families with children hardest of all.
We need a plan for growth rather than this failing austerity programme that is doing such damage to our economy, our precious public services and impoverishing millions of people.
The analysis follows last month's Budget and is on top of tax rises already introduced, like last year's VAT rise which is costing a family with children an average of £450 per year.
New government figures obtained by Labour also show that more than 3,000 families in Derby are set to lose all of their Child Tax Credit or Working Tax Credit from today.
Over 2,500 Derby families on modest and middle incomes will lose all of their Child Tax Credit – worth around £545 per year.
And over 1,000 working couples in Derby earning less than around £17,000 per year will lose all of their Working Tax Credit – worth up to £3,870 per year – if they cannot increase their working hours.
Figures also uncovered by Labour reveal that, following today’s changes to working tax credit, a couple with two children on the minimum wage will be better off quitting their jobs if they cannot work at least 19 hours per week.
The IFS figures also show that government policies mean pensioners will be an average of £315 a year worse off from April 2014 once cuts to their allowances announced in last month’s Budget – what has been dubbed the 'granny tax' – have kicked in.
Families on middle and low incomes here in Derby are facing a tax credits bombshell from David Cameron and George Osborne.
For all the government’s talk about increasing the personal allowance, these independent figures show that while they may be giving with one hand they are taking much more away with the other. That is why families with children will be an average of £511 a year worse from today.
Why is it that people earning over £150,000 soon to get a £3 billion tax cut from this out of touch government while parents on middle and modest incomes are being clobbered?
It cannot be the right priority to make thousands of families and pensioners pay more so millionaires can pay less – over £40,000 less in the case of the 14,000 richest people in the country. And it cannot be right to leave working parents trying to do the right thing better off if they quit their jobs.
It is no wonder that the Chancellor cannot bring himself to say the words 'we're all in this together' again. His empty slogan has been exposed by the reality of his policies which are hitting women harder than men and hitting families with children hardest of all.
We need a plan for growth rather than this failing austerity programme that is doing such damage to our economy, our precious public services and impoverishing millions of people.
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