There has been much speculation about next week’s budget. It will affect us all and I for one am hoping for some brave, progressive choices informed by fairness and a commitment to fixing our broken public services and tackling poverty.
The UK cannot afford a return to austerity. After over a decade of Tory cuts, public services desperately need investment – not reductions in spending. The economic growth needed to bring about the change people want cannot happen without strong, well-resourced essential services.
We know the Labour government inherited a mess from the Conservatives, but the economy is still not working for many working people who are struggling to afford the basics. Instead, this budget is an opportunity to tax wealth, not work.
I have long called for wealth taxes – making sure that those with the broadest shoulders contribute their fair share. Just levying 1% on assets above £5 million would raise over £10 billion a year. Bringing capital gains tax in line with income tax, so people making big profits from property aren’t paying lower rates than workers earning a hard day’s wages, could raise up to £14 billion per year.
It’s obscene that unearned income, from investments and properties, should pay lower rates of tax than a nurse or a care worker while 4.5 million children in the UK are growing up in poverty.
Widening inequality and increasing poverty are not just holding back economic growth but ruining many of our communities across the UK. Over the decades, Labour in government has had a long and proud history of increasing equality and cutting poverty. But I’m concerned we’re not seeing the progress on tackling poverty and improving the cost of living from this government that so many people desperately need. That is why the chancellor needs to scrap the two child benefit cap, something I’ve long campaigned for.
People elected a Labour government because they wanted change and while there are things to celebrate – like the Employment Rights Bill that will transform the working lives of millions – there is a long, long way to go before people can start to feel better about their lives.
This budget is an historic opportunity to start to rebalance the country. To shift the dial on inequality and call time on child poverty. I hope the chancellor is bold, grasps the nettle and makes history for the right reasons next week.
The post Opinion: ‘The budget is an historic opportunity to start to rebalance the country’ appeared first on UNISON National.
Comments are closed.