AUTUMN STATEMENT: MORE TOXIC MEDICINE?

The Tory-Lib Dem Government’s economic policies are not working:

They’re failing on jobs, growth and the deficit

Prices are rising faster than wages, our economy has flatlined for two years and long term unemployment is soaring. This is causing long-term damage to the economy. And because the benefits bill is up and tax revenues are down as a result of this economic failure, borrowing is rising so far this year – meaning the government is failing on the one test they set themselves. Raising taxes and cutting spending too far and too fast has backfired.

They don’t have a long-term plan for our economy

Banking reforms are being watered down, they’ve failed to deliver on infrastructure investment to strengthen our economy for the future and business is rapidly losing confidence in the government’s ability to make long-term decisions.

And they’re standing up for the wrong people

The price of this government’s economic failure is being paid for by people on middle and low incomes who are being asked to pay more, while millionaires get a tax cut – worth an average of £107,000 for 8,000 people earning over £1 million.

We need a One Nation approach to the economy: an economy that grows, where everybody has a stake and where the rewards are fairly shared.

So these are the tests for today’s autumn statement:

We need a plan to create jobs and growth, which are vital to get the deficit down and catch up all the lost ground of the last two years. Labour's five point plan includes using the funds from the 4G auction to build 100,000 affordable homes, bringing forward infrastructure investment, a temporary VAT cut and a bank bonus tax to fund a jobs guarantee for young people.

We need long-term reforms to strengthen our economy and ensure that other countries do not continue to race ahead of us. This should include a British Investment Bank properly backed by the Treasury to boost lending to small and medium sized businesses, a long term plan to rebuild our infrastructure and radical reforms to separate retail and investment banking.

We need fair action to help people on low and middle incomes with the rising cost of living. That means cancelling the fuel duty rise in January, at least until next April. And it means rethinking the plan to give a tax cut to millionaires on the same day that taxes go up for millions of pensioners.

In the Autumn Statement we need to see a change of course from George Osborne, not more of the same.

If he fails to do so then it will be even clearer that only One Nation Labour can deliver the change Britain needs to make our economy fairer and stronger, get the deficit down and ensure people are better off.