Desperate move by Government

The Government’s Autumn Statement on the finances of the nation released earlier this week makes for a good headline, but don’t let it distract from what’s going on underneath.

Jeremy Hunt, Chancellor of the Exchequer, pledged a £10bn National Insurance cut and an uplift in benefits by the September rate of inflation of 6.7 per cent in April.

But that money has to come from somewhere, and what this really means to you and I is a lowering of standards across public services, already cut to the bone and effectively disappearing in many of our communities, in order to pay for the tax cut.

The promise to cut National Insurance for millions of people will also come at the beginning of January, rather than by April, as is standard after an Autumn Statement, and has fuelled speculation of a potential May election.

This means that the policy really is just a grabby headline as the Tories make desperate last attempts to undo their bad name and more than a decade of declining living standards.

Because, inside the Autumn Statement, revealed the true Tory mindset. The Chancellor plans to drive 200,000 people into work, including people who are sick and disabled.

Benefits claimants could face mandatory work placements, be denied free prescriptions and have their benefits stopped if they do not find work.

Tougher benefit sanctions and stricter work capability assessments are taken straight out of the George Osborne and David Cameron playbook of austerity measures.

A study by the University of Glasgow found that more than 330,000 excess deaths in Great Britain between 2012 and 2019 could be attributed to those austerity measures, including spending cuts to public services and benefits.

If we are on an election footing, let’s end this attack on our public services once and for all.

South London Press
THE SPIRIT OF SOUTH LONDON

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