Campaign news

Cross-Party consensus on cuts will doom UK to more recession

8th December 2009

Ahead of Wednesday’s (9th December 2009) Pre-Budget Report, the LRC has called for an alternative to the cross-party consensus on public sector cuts, as we know the damage that could be wrought by the cuts agenda.

John McDonnell, LRC Chair, said:

“The effect of the scale of cuts being suggested in the Pre-Budget Report, and by opposition parties, would mean horrific cuts in vital services and more unemployment. They offer no solution to the economic crisis, just cutbacks in public spending not seen since the 1930s.

“Yet none of the main political parties is willing to look at a serious increase in the tax take – either by increasing redistributive taxes or tackling large scale tax evasion and avoidance.”

Bob Crow, RMT General Secretary, said:

“The election battle lines have now been drawn by the main parties and it’s all about a race to the bottom on public spending cuts with jobs and services sacrificed to pay off the bail out to the bankers and the speculators. The trade unions will be the first line of defence in the fight back and RMT will be there in the front line wherever public services are under threat.”

Joe Marino, BFAWU General Secretary, said:

“Instead of targeting cuts in front line services which are in effect attacks on the poor and vulnerable, the government should be looking at targeting those who got us into this mess in the first place. A tax on banks and their obscene bonuses would be a good start. We simply cannot accept the view that the bankers’ mess has to be bailed out by working people. There is an alternative and it should be to make those pay that can afford to -rather than attack the welfare state.”

LEAP has also published its Red Papers: The Cuts, which can be downloaded for free. Comment in the discussion papers section.

Tags: their crisis not ours (32)