Latest news with #Austerity
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
If you're in the private sector, get ready to take a massive hit
It should have been called the Spending More Review. Or even better, the Spending More Without Saying Where the Money is Going to Come From Review. You have to wonder how much longer this Government can go on running against Liz Truss. Or against those other favourite panto villains: Austerity and the £22 Billion Black Hole. And how much more mileage can there be in swearing fealty to the interests of 'working people' when you clearly mean 'people who work in the public sector' – because you are busy putting the other kind, the ones who work in the private entrepreneurial sector, out of business. So it was a billion here and a billion there: lots and lots of money to be spent on what are obviously thought to be the most vote-winning recipients, most of whom happen to reside in the Red Wall constituencies which Labour is terrified of losing to Reform. There was, of course, a large funding increase promised to the NHS without any demand for the kind of reforms that might actually see that money better spent. Even Gordon Brown, who hugely increased health spending, had demanded reform in exchange (although he never actually got it). But to fail even to mention such a condition seems insulting to the intelligence of voters who can see the inefficiencies and waste in the system with their own eyes. But the most depressing recurrent theme was a return to the sentimental pre-1980s idea of a working class that cannot imagine any life beyond its local industrial roots. The aspiration and social mobility which Blair's New Labour had been compelled to embrace is gone now. The commitment was to save 'local communities' of 'working people' by developing government-run projects: precisely the conditions that gave rise to the suffocating trade union power of the 1970s. (Ms Reeves explicitly stated her determination to give 'public service workers the pay rises they deserve.') This was a spending programme that a Government led by Jeremy Corbyn would have been proud of. But the biggest hole in all of this was any explanation of where this money would come from. There was a clear hint in her reiteration of the Government's commitment to pay for increased 'day-to-day' spending through current income rather than by taking on more debt. That means tax rises. But you knew that didn't you? And if your earnings come from the wealth-creating private sector, even though you may consider yourself at least as much of a 'working person' as those who are paid by the state, you had better be prepared to take a very substantial hit. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Russia Today
3 days ago
- Business
- Russia Today
Thousands rally in London demanding ‘Welfare Not Warfare' (VIDEOS)
Thousands of people marched through central London on Saturday to protest the UK government's deepening militarization at the expense of public welfare. The demonstration, organized by the People's Assembly, began at midday at Portland Place and moved toward Whitehall, with participants chanting and holding placards that read 'Tax the Rich,' 'Nurses Not Nukes,' and 'Welfare Not Warfare.' Trade unionists, campaigners, and activists from across the country rallied under the slogan 'No to Austerity 2.0,' calling on the Labour government to abandon fiscal policies that cut support services while escalating defense spending. 'Scrapping winter fuel payments, keeping the Tory two-child benefit cap, cutting disability support, and slashing foreign aid—while boosting defense spending—are not 'tough choices,' they are political choices,' a spokesperson for the People's Assembly said. Thousands on the streets in London with @pplsassembly against welfare cuts. Welfare not warfare! #welfarenorwarfare# Demonstrators condemned Prime Minister Keir Starmer's 'battle-ready, armor-clad' rhetoric, accusing him of using the language of conflict to silence criticism of his economic agenda. 'His war-mongering talk of war-readiness and a new era of threat are a cynical attempt to deflect any criticisms of his policy of cuts and austerity,' one campaign leaflet read. 'His call for everyone to be part of the defense of the country is an attempt to label anyone who opposes his obscene militarism and austerity as unpatriotic.' 'We will not and never will accept a government that is more interested in arms sales than in looking after the poor in its own country,' Martin Cavanagh, President of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), told the crowd. #WelfareNotWarfare#TaxtheRichPeople's Assembly March today in London Angela Grant, President of the DWP group, said people were 'dying because they do not have food in their bellies,' while military budgets rise and the NHS continues to be underfunded. Labour leader Keir Starmer unveiled the Strategic Defense Review on Monday, committing to increase military spending to 3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The government's plan includes expanded production of warplanes, long-range missiles, and its nuclear-powered submarine fleet. All the crimes in your name,Labour Party Shame Shame!Anti Austerity March London today Defense Secretary John Healey said last week that the UK was 'sending a message to Moscow' by allocating billions of pounds for new munitions factories and long-range strike capabilities. In addition, London has pledged to deliver 100,000 drones to Ukraine by April 2026. A government statement confirmed that £350 million from a wider £4.5 billion Ukraine support package would be used for new drone shipments.
