THANKS FOR NOTHING
No pay rises for long suffering public sector Economy to flatline for at least 5 more yrs Stamp duty tax cut exposed as a gimmick
YESTERDAY’S Budget left ordinary Brits facing years of hardship as cruel Tory austerity continues.
Philip Hammond offered no public sector pay rise and admitted the economy will be dire for years.
Jeremy Corbyn said: “The misery many are in will continue.”
MILLIONS of ordinary Brits were left with a depressing feeling of deja vu yesterday as yet another Tory Budget offered them no way out of the misery caused by years of cuts.
Philip Hammond showed his contempt for public sector workers by making no mention of a wage boost despite the 1% pay cap being lifted.
He also failed to utter a single word on the social care crisis engulfing the elderly and ignored the key NHS demand for £4billion. There was no extra cash for hundreds of schools battered by cuts, apart from a small boost for maths skills.
Even his bid to woo young voters by scrapping stamp duty for first-time buyers backfired after experts warned it would push up house prices.
And the deluded Chancellor then boasted the future was bright for Britain – before exposing that as a myth by declaring growth was stagnating and would even fall over the next five years.
Mr Hammond said the Office for Budget Responsibility now expected the economy to grow by 1.5% this year, down from the 2% estimate in March. Growth is predicted to be below 2% every year for five years – for the first time in a generation. And he admitted his flagship hi-tech plan to boost productivity across the UK had fallen “stubbornly flat”.
Experts said his stunning admission would leave hard-working families £540 down. To make matters worse, Mr Hammond pressed ahead with plans to freeze benefits. His Budget of No Hope signalled Theresa May’s intention to continue with damaging austerity, despite warnings it has failed and will plunge millions more into poverty. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: “The reality test of this Budget will be how it affects ordinary people’s lives. The reality is a lot will be no better off, and the misery many are in will continue.
“We were promised with lots of hype a revolutionary Budget, the reality is nothing has changed. People were looking for help from this and they have been let down.
“The Chancellor has not been clear today, not for NHS workers, our police, firefighters, teachers, teaching assistants, bin collectors, tax collectors or armed forces personnel. Why does he think it’s OK to under pay, over stress and under appreciate all those who work within our NHS?”
And Mr Corbyn warned the “hardest hit” by the “long-term economic pain” would be disabled people, single parents and women.
IPPR Commission on Economic Justice director Michael Jacobs added: “The Chancellor said the future is bright. But that’s not what it looks like to workers on low wages in insecure jobs in poor communities around the country. It’s not what it looks like to young people unable to afford a decent home. And it’s not what the vast majority of economists think the future will be like either.”
Resolution Foundation director Torsten Bell
warned of a “grim” outlook for families struggling on low wages and rising living costs. He added: “Our incomes are expected to be £540 lower than thought and pay is not set to return to pre-crisis levels until the next decade.” Mr Hammond also announced £3billion would be spent on preparing for Brexit. That’s more than the £2.8billion he pledged for the NHS. But only £350million of that will be available to hospitals this year. NHS England national medical director Professor Sir Bruce Keogh warned the extra cash would “definitely” not fill funding gaps in the service. Mr Hammond finally caved in to calls to speed up universal credit payments He will remove a sevenday wait after a claim is submitted, meaning payments will be made after five weeks not six.
Mr Hammond pledged a tiny rise in the National Living Wage from £7.50 to £7.83 an hour. He also announced £28million for Kensington and Chelsea council for counselling and regeneration in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire.