Absolutely shameful Spring budget for the rich from Rishi Sunak the Chancellor who this afternoon boasted of giving “security for working families as we help with the cost of living”.However,
in reality, there is little to help those who are at the sharpest end
of the growing cost of living crisis. By definition, his cut to basic
income tax will not help the poorest families for the simple reason that
they do not pay tax on their income in the first place.
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said the Spring Statement “has failed families who need help now” and highlighted that the “small print shows that pay packets are now expected to fall in value by £11 a week this year”.
“After
12 years of Tory government, Britain needs a pay rise. But this
Chancellor has no plan to get wages rising and give working people
long-term financial security,” she said.
Unite’s Sharon Graham argued the Spring Statement “just tinkers around the edges” of the cost of living crisis, saying: “Workers will still be facing sleepless nights worrying about how to make ends meet, overwhelmed by rocketing prices.”
Who had a good Budget today? Big business. The best off. Landlords. Who had a bad day? Those earning less than £30,000 a year, who have been abandoned. Pensioners. Those struggling on benefits . Anyone needing healthcare, or just care. Public employees.No help for the thousands queuing up at FoodBanks.mo extr mony for health, schools or other public services, and no help for
those who can't heat their homes. While wages and benefits are going
down, and a complete collapse of society is happening right before our
eyes,we get more austerity,thrust upon us, but that;s Tory priorities for you, and when Martin Lewis financial pundit is getting into fight mode whilst simultaneously running out of advice for the public you know things are bad. https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/my-head-sunk-martin-lewis-23477991
By far the most important announcement was the one Sunak didn't make. Faced with an energy cost crisis which will plunge 10 million into fuel poverty, Sunak provided nothing to low income households on benefits and pensions. On the contrary: by uprating benefits and pensions only by the 3.1% which was last October’s inflation rate, not the 7% + which will be the inflation rate over the next few months, Sunak has directly made 9 million of the poorest people around £500 poorer.
And this huge income cut comes on top of the £1000 a year Sunak took from Universal Credit recipients in the autumn when he withdrew the £20 a week pandemic uplift. So this is a total £1700 hit to the incomes of the UK’s poorest households.
Sunak trumpeted his raising of the threshold at which National Insurance contributions begin to be paid. But remember, most benefit recipients do not pay NI as their incomes are too low. Neither do pensioners. So they do not benefit from this at all. Most benefit recipients do not own a car. So they do not benefit from the fuel duty cut. They do not pay income tax, so will not benefit from the 1p cut in 2024. We have no idea if they will benefit from the £500m Sunak gave local councils.
Sunak’s statement was obviously aimed at Tory MPs whose support he wants in a future leadership election. But if this callous treatment of people on low incomes - by a Chancellor who happens to be the wealthiest chancellor in history with a joint wealth with his wife of over £630m, if this what will attract their support, they should be ashamed. Ther complete failure to do anything meaningful to tackle the cost of living crisis , coupled with inflation and high taxation, means people are facing the biggest fall in living sandards since records begun in 1956, and highlights how out of touch with reality.our Government is.
The Torys long term plan appears to be about re-creating a master-servant relationship between the monied few and the impoverished millions. Every single thing they do takes more from the poor to further enrich the wealthy. This Spring budget is just further confirmation that Sunak and the Torys are unwilling and fundamentally unable to support the vulnerable in our society at a time when they need it most, Remember people if we were living in France, we;d be taking to the streets, We have to get rid of them before they starve us all to death,
