Listening to the Coalition Chancellor talk about the
economy, you would think that all is well, unemployment falling, growth on the
rise, the sun is shining on England.
In that context, his Budget Statement 2014 is ‘More of
the Same’.
People doing well under this government will do
better.
But for those not doing well, the screw will really turn.
The Budget 2014 does nothing
for the working poor and given the continuing rise in the cost of living, will make things
worse for those families.
In addition, the announced National Welfare Benefits Cap
will be a nightmare for those people dependant on benefits. The proposed Cap for the country (119
billion) will be about the same as the amount the government paid in 2013 ALONE
in CASH (115
billion) to the support the banks 5 YEARS after the financial crisis, it cannot
practically be implemented without causing severe problems.
And the question is ‘how will it work and what will it
mean for Manchester residents’? For a city that had the highest level of Child
Poverty in the country in 2013, this policy will be a disaster. Manchester City Council will have to plan accordingly for
the next few years because to its shame the national Labour Party are
supporting and are planning
to vote for the Welfare Cap proposal.
The North West Green Party's lead European election
candidate, Peter Cranie, asked “Why is it always the least well-off who lose
the most? At the moment, people with incomes above £150k pay only marginally
higher tax rates than teachers and nurses.”
Manchester Green Party Chair Deyika Nzeribe said “The high
levels of poverty and stories of hardship the people of Manchester have endured
over the past few years have been well documented. Manchester Green Party condemns
this budget as part of the continuing assault on the most vulnerable in society
and if reports are true, it’s a disgrace that the Labour Party is even thinking
of supporting it in Parliament.”
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