George Osborne said today that the Tories would take a leaf out of Tory-led councils' books when it comes to cost-cutting if they get in to Government.
Channel 4 News tonight gave us an idea of what that might mean. They featured what’s going on down in Hammersmith and Fulham where the Tory-controlled council is cutting services and support for the disabled. And up in Leeds, where I am, we are also getting to see what Osborne would be up to if he ever gets the keys to 11 Downing Street. Pay cuts for the lowest paid council workers – refuse workers stand to lose as much as £6,000 a year and have taken strike action in despair.
It’s going to be working class families who will suffer the consequences of the Age of Austerity rhetoric that Osborne preaches; and other victims, the elderly and vulnerable. The Tories in Leeds want to cut day care centres, including Bramley Lawns in Leeds West, which provide much needed support for those who use them – and some respite for their families who provide round-the-clock care.
There is a choice. Yes, future spending rounds are going to be tough, but Labour are on the side of hard-working families and those who most need government to be on their side – the young, elderly, disabled and vulnerable.
We can see, in Leeds and elsewhere, that the Tories are on a different side – a cut in inheritance tax for the richest few hundred families and pain for those who can afford it least.
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Winter Fuel Payments
Child benefit
to help balance the books.
She used to work as an economist in the Bank of England. We can see what went wrong.
cut HNS Services
cut winter fuel paymenst from pensioners
reduce child benefit
Will those be in the manifesto by the way?
P.S. I see you worked as an economist at the Bank of England and at the British embassy in Washington, so we should be able to rely on your use of figures shouldn't we?
You've allowed dramatic licence to infect part of your thrust in that you say
"a cut in inheritance tax for the richest few hundred families and pain for those
who can afford it least".
You might excuse me for pointing out that the cut to inheritance tax enacted by Alastair Darling was copy-cattery to Osborne's proposal, and that in both cases the cut would affect tens of thousands of families for the better.
And what has inheritance tax got to do with council workers wages?
Labour oh so clearly isn't on the side of side of "hard-working families and those who most need government to be on their side – the young, elderly, disabled and vulnerable" because their relative wealth disparity has INCREASED in the last 12 years.
Rachel - blinkers off, fair comparisons, a few stats even, might have better informed your note.
Is it not the case that this is nothing to do with cuts, and everything to do with keeping the wage bill the same whilst trying to introduce equality of pay between men and women?
If the answer to my question is yes, then can I ask why a well educated person like you is presenting information is this fashion.
If the answer is no, then I unreservedly apologise for the implicit inference in this post that you are peddling misinformation.
Annoying
Meaningless
Offensive
Transparent
Predictable
Nasty
A bit 2004
Can't a little wonk come up with something a bit more up to date and modern? I quite like the idea of something inclusive like, ooh, 'human-being' or 'citizen', perhaps.
Where do I send my multi-million pound bill for that re-branding advice? Cash will be fine.
What I will say to you is that we need to reflect on what we have achieved and change for the better. When I seen "the Tories are the nasty party", I have visions of Campbell and Prescott in a less than convincing way turning off the electorate. Our party needs to challenge the last 12 years and rebuild. Spin will mean that we are not elected.
I just read your bio, as somebody who very well educated I'd like you to reflect on the above as this is not worthy of somebody with your credentials. The Tories below have destroyed your argument. We need to stick to the facts.
Hello John, you're falling into your own trap there, apart from the obvious tories (so subtle they usually include it in their names) there are many other types here; ex lab-party members, ex-labour party voters etc etc. Losing the next GE will be like a bereavment for Labour, it has been their longest ever parliament and their best opportunity to make a difference and change society for the better. It has failed and, like a bereavement, most of the party are still in the 'denial' phase. Rachel is very clever but just hasn't noticed all the money's gone.
By the way, I hope you have given your DNA, filled in all the paperwork and ticked all the boxes and are an official State Registered Non-paedophile. I am hoping for a badge of some sort.
I will give you some advice too. The hysterical Daily Mail style of ranting kills your argument as well. I have not done the things you say nor have to.
Our political system and media culture leave alot to be desired. Less of the drivel, more facts and recognising of common ground would mean we get more done.
I wish people would stop using this utterly meaningless transatlantic Blairite mantra.
What does it mean anyway? Do such families have to have mortgages or can people who rent and receive housing benefit be considered as members of that august company? Can single parent families qualify for the epithet? Do children in "hard working families" have to undertake Saturday jobs, voluntary service, paper rounds or similar, in order for their family to qualify in New Labour terms as "hard working"? - or will buckling down to school and home work suffice to give their family a pass?
Typical New Labour froth and bubble.
Despite promises and pledges made pre-1997, New Labour commissioned less social housing to be built than Lady Thatcher and is currently hounding the sick, disabled and unemployed, attempting to bully them into work, often a laughable impossibility for the poor souls however much they are threatened and harangued, during the biggest downturn in the economy and recession in living memory - and all thanks to the efforts of that "compassionate" and "enlightened" ex-ministerial "left-winger" James Purnell! And New Labour is the Party that made over 500,000 of the very poorest of the "hard working" poor worse off by abolishing the 10p tax band, all because the arrogant and puffed up Gordon Brown wanted to look like an income tax cutter in his last budget as Chancellor.
I could go on... and on... and on... in a similar vein.
Give us a break!
New Labour have wreaked too much intentional cruelty on the poor and the helpless during its time in office to be able to play the "We're the compassionate Party and everyone else is cruel" card.
As far as I can see all the Parties are one as bad as the other.
But another five years of Gordon Brown?
Get real!
(Note: 'Dole Scum' does not imply that everyone on benefits is scum, if just refers to those who choose to be a burden on others)
On social housing - I wonder how much social housing has been pulled down by prescott? Has this loss been taken into account when assessing labours record?
(For the avoidance of doubt, I am not a fan of social housing - but am happy to judge labour against its own declared measures).
I once heard Tony Blair say "hard-working families" four times in a five minute speech! Surely a record for political repetitiousness. I heard Oliver Letwin say it once although, to give him his due, he utterly failed to keep a straight face when doing so. Man! I hate these Orwellian sound bites! They should be outlawed!
The point I was trying to make is that New Labour formed an unprincipled government that lied and lied and lied and lied and when, just for a moment, they weren't lying through their teeth, they busied themselves not telling the truth.
I was a Labour Party supporter and lifelong voter but not any more thanks to Blair, Brown and their band of dishonourable unprincipled dissembling acolytes.
(Although I'd never vote Tory. No hard feelings I trust.)
The poor have Gordon "10p tax" Brown to thank. Cuts will have to be made, they will impact everyone, but will hit the poorest hardest, purely because they are poor.
Socialism makes the poor poorer. Lesson learnt yet?
We still dont get it .
Lets be honest whoever wins the election will cut , No one knows where until the manifestos are published , this type of line puts the public of , We see through the spin and hope for the return of the Labour party ( not new labour).
ricki
Ps My partner is back in hospital ( not due to the Purnell reforms ) but it was the 3rd time in aweek with the same problem ?????
After the failure to honour manifesto commitments on Top Up Fees and a referendum on the EU treaty, the labour party manifesto has about as much credibility and respect as a copy of Viz.
Very expensive toilet paper.
To pay for this the Arkley has decided to scrap the free breakfast scheme for school children, a popular and vital scheme, especially with working parents.
http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-news/2009/09/08/mayor-linda-arkley-scraps-free-breakfast-scheme-61634-24631914/
Cutting free breakfasts is not going to lead to any one going hungry (and working parents can pay for their own kids breakfasts).
Cutting parking charges for shoppers parking for less than two hours is a fantastic move to try to boost the local economy - with more wealth generated in the local economy there will be fewer people who need hand outs.
Labour may give their client group a larger and larger proportion of the pie, but labour pie is ever and ever smaller - and left to labour there will be no pie at all.
Boosting the local economy should lead to a far larger pie, so whatever your share of it everyone will be better off.
I dont want to seem hard and uncaring, but parents really need to umderstand that being a parent has responsiblities, and feeding your child seems like an obvious one to me.
You couldn't even buy breakfast at my school, but then our parents understood that feeding their children is important, and ensured we has some cerial before we left the house.
My kids get up, washed, dressed and fed a decent breakfast in the morning, I (and my wife) do that, that is MY responsibility.
If a parent does not do this they are blatantly incapable of being parents and subsequently should not be allowed to be. Simples
Labour helped create an underclass that produces yet more underclass, deal with it. Although as it's Labour's core vote I can see why it might be reluctant to act.
If you are going to have a kid, it is your responsibility to look after it.
The wage cuts to them is an utter disgrace, but look at the council make up, Labour are more than capable of pushing through that they don't want this to happen. They need the backing of others on the council, but who would refuse against the nasty Conservatives?
http://www.leeds.gov.uk/Council_and_democracy/Elected_representatives/Elections__results/leeds_city_council_election_results__1st_may_2008.aspx
Explain for me how this is down to a political party? Is this purely a Conservative decision or is there others in the council who support it?
1. Nobody should have to take a pay cut
2. Women must be paid the same as men
3. It is unreasonable to screw more money out of the taxpayer in the present economic circumstances.
Leeds council are trying to introduce pay equality without increasing the wages bill, since HMG refused to come up with the cash.
Goes to show how flexible the LIb Dems can be.
It must be almost as dissapointing as realising that you are a good enough politician to lead a party, but the party you are leading is the lib-dems... you must think back to how things might have been if you had picked a different party all that time ago, right back at the start...
Meanwhile live in the real world and read this:
Britain's public debt will explode to 180pc of GDP within a decade unless future governments take drastic measures to restore fiscal probity, according to a confidential study by the European Commission.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/recession/6169544/European-Commission-sees-galloping-UK-debt-crisis.html