It’s not often I agree with UKIP. However, today their summary of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement sums up my view. It was, they said, “an Autumn Statement for politicians, not people.”
Much was heralded by Osborne today – and cheered by baying Tory backbenchers desperate for a decent performance this year – in terms of economic growth and positive forecasts and – we were told – we are enjoying record employment. If you were not aware of the reality facing many families, you might have expected him to conclude by telling us “we’ve never had it so good.” It was a political performance by a very political Chancellor.
The inconvenient truth for George Osborne is that the rest of us have to live in the real world – outside of his City of London and Westminster bubbles.
If things are so improved, why are new foodbanks opening each week?
If we have record employment, why are one million young people still without jobs; and why is the number of people unemployed for two years or more across Dorset still rising?
If this government has “freed up” housing through its ideological Right to Buy scheme, why are the number of homeless households and rough sleepers rising?
Last year, the Chancellor’s shambolic budget led to a series of chaotic u-turns on the caravan tax, the charities tax, and the pasty tax (remember that?) This year he learned his lesson, and got his u-turns in before his statement.
Labour promised an energy price freeze. The government dismissed the idea as “Marxist”, then later were found to be pleading with the energy companies for a freeze on bills before 2015.
Labour pledged to cut and freeze business rates for small businesses. Suddenly, the Chancellor introduces a £1000 cut in his statement today. (Although this does not match the average £1500 they have already risen, nor does it stop the £250 average rise planned for next year.)
The government opposed intervening in the market on payday loans. Last week they promised a cap on their interest rates.
The government is – as the Daily Telegraph put it last week – following the news cycle, not setting the agenda.
Whatever growth we are finally seeing, it has all come at a huge cost to our people, our families, and our communities after three years’ of austerity and economic stagnation. Services have been decimated, workers’ rights and terms and conditions have been eroded, and every household is now an average of £1600 worse off than they were.
In 2010, we were promised a recovery that should have delivered growth of 7.7% by now. We have seen growth – finally – of 2.5%. We were promised the structural deficit would be falling, with the “books balanced” by 2015. In fact, the government has already borrowed £198 billion more than it planned. Price rises have outstripped wage rises in 40 out of the 41 months since Cameron and Osborne came in.
The City may be richer. The energy companies may be richer. Bankers may be getting paid bonuses again. Those earning over £150,000 a year may still be cheering the Chancellor for the tax cut he’s given them.
But almost every other British household is poorer than they were in 2010, and are getting poorer still. Nothing in today’s Autumn Statement addresses that.
This statement was about politics, not people.
Simon Bowkett is the South Dorset Labour Prospective Parliamentary Candidate. Follow his campaign at www.simonbowkett.co.uk, and on Twitter @Simon_Bowkett
