Campaign news

Budget 2015: Brutal cuts hidden behind ‘unreal rhetoric’

18th March 2015

Budget 2015: Brutal cuts hidden behind ‘unreal rhetoric’

In the last Budget of a Chancellor under whom the wealthiest have got wealthier and the poorest have got poorer, yet again it is the poorest who will suffer as a result of today’s Budget with £13bn cut from public services and £12bn further benefit cuts.

John McDonnell MP, LEAP chair, said:

“The Chancellor issued a blitz of statistics claiming living standards are rising, but they bear no relationship to the reality of peoples’ lives.

“His miniscule £5 billion target on tax avoidance is less than 5% of the total tax gap, but he proposes to hit us all with £30 billion of cuts to public services and benefits. Ordinary people will continue to pay to protect tax avoiders”

Andrew Fisher, LEAP co-ordinator, said:

“In 2010, Osborne claimed the debt would be 67.4% of our economy by 2015, but today he confirmed it will be 80.2%. Osborne has failed on his own terms, yet caused real pain.

“There has been no recovery for most workers or people out of work - and won’t be for several years yet. Austerity has driven down wages, increased homelessness, and cut public services and benefits. Nothing the Chancellor said today will build an economy that works for all.

Background

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