The Autumn Statement given today by the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, George Osbourne, has served as confirmation that the Conservative UK
Government intends to impose a decade of austerity.
Mr Osbourne made claims that the Tories have provided “economic
recovery for all”. When so many do not have suitable housing, depend on food
banks to be able to feed their children, live in cold, damp homes because they
are unable to pay for rising fuel costs, struggle to find suitable employment and
ultimately, when so many are caught in a vicious cycle of poverty, I fail to
see how any recent growth in the economy has benefited anyone but the rich,
bankers and corporations.
The gap between the rich and the poor is larger than ever.
The “one percent”, the financial sector, and corporations are pulling away from
the rest of society, helped along by not having to pay tax. And despite claims
otherwise from this Tory UK government, social mobility has been stagnating for
years.
Much of the funding to the welfare system Mr Osbourne
intends to cut, £12 billion, has been a lifeline for so many in both
Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill, and around the country. These cuts are an
affront to everyday families. The willingness of this Conservative UK
government to take money out of the pockets of everyday people and families in
order to fund tax breaks for corporations and the financial sector is abhorrent.
I welcome the desire of Mr Osbourne to tackle the housing
crisis. However, the changes he has introduced will only make the crisis worse.
The changes he has introduced in regards to the selling of
council owned property are seemingly designed to encourage councils to sell off
even more homes in order to prop up their own services, the funding for which
has been decimated by Tory budget cuts. I have met numerous constituents in
dire need of housing who are stuck on incredibly long waiting lists. With such
a shortage of council houses, encouraging councils to sell off more property
for short-term gain will only make the housing crisis even worse.
The new affordable homes the UK Government plans to build
will be available to buy. I fail to see how this will help the many households
currently living paycheck to paycheck in this age of austerity. When your
family can barely afford groceries, saving for a deposit on a mortgage is
nearly impossible.
The extension of the right to buy on housing association
tenants introduced by this Tory Government will further reduce the affordable
housing stock available to rent for so many households living paycheck to
paycheck.
The Tories again have demonstrated that their ideology of
austerity takes precedent over nearly everything else, and that everyday
working individuals and families are far from a priority.
