Posts under ‘Poverty/Low Pay’

Would a Rachel Reeves budget yesterday have been much different?

by James Elliott.

Ahead of yesterday’s budget, in which George Osborne laid out £12bn of welfare cuts, a continued squeeze on public sector pay, the abolition of student maintenance grants and higher tuition fees, Labour’s ‘opposition’ front benchers went out of their way to agree with Osborne’s narrative of austerity. Still reeling from the General Election, or now […]

Millionaires demanding salary hikes as £12bn welfare cuts fall on poorest

by Michael Meacher.

You can always trust Britain’s pampered corporate bosses to express their greed at the most inauspicious moments, but to do so when Osborne is set for the most inequality-expanding budget in living memory at the expense of the poor is insensitive even by their standards. The heads of Britain’s biggest companies already make more in […]

Wages, profits & investment In Greece

by Michael Burke.

The IMF has placed a road-block in the way of a deal with the Greek government and it remains unclear whether any agreement can be reached. The prior agreement which the IMF rejected was itself already very onerous. But the IMF wants to shift the burden of paying for the crisis away from taxes on […]

Even the high priests of capitalism have come out against against inequality

by Michael Meacher.

The IMF is the last place that one would expect to hear the argument being made that inequality has gone far too far. So the recent detailed research from the citadel of capitalism has to be taken seriously. What they found was that raising the income share of the poorest fifth of the population increases […]

Osborne’s £12bn cuts mainly hit those in work and will backfire badly

by Michael Meacher.

Contrary to incessant Tory propaganda about a pervasive culture of welfare dependency, the evidence actually shows jobless benefits claims are now at a 35 year low, but will be put at risk if Osborne pursues his £12bn welfare cuts at the expense mainly of people in work. Of the three out-of-work benefits – unemployment benefit […]

Immigration and benefits: the political economy of scapegoating

by Phil Burton-Cartledge.

Immigration and benefits. Immigration and benefits. Immigration and benefits. I can barely remember a time when these weren’t commanding headlines or the imaginations of politicians. One might say that this is no surprise, seeing as they are both hot button issues for the public – though it might be said these issues are fabricated and […]

What can we expect from renewed austerity?

by Michael Burke.

The new Tory government will renew its austerity offensive shortly with the publication of an ‘emergency Budget’ on July 8. It is simple to demonstrate that the previous austerity programme caused the economy to grind to a halt (and with it the improvement in government finances). Supporters of austerity like to claim that austerity led […]

The coming tabloid assault on charities

by Phil Burton-Cartledge.

A couple of straws in the wind, perhaps, but I have a feeling something’s a-brewing. Exhibit one: Olive Cooke, a 92-year-old poppy seller and giver to charitable causes took her own life after, apparently, being repeatedly pestered by cold callers asking for more cash (she already gave to 27 charities every month) and receiving dozens […]

4000 UK Uncut members in mass civil disobedience tomorrow in central London

by Newsdesk.

UK Uncut is planning a spectacular act of mass disobedience opposing austerity in central London tomorrow, with over 4,000 people expected to attend. Precise details of the action are being kept under wraps, but the group has promised bold, exciting and creative direct action at a prominent location. Protests are also being held in a […]

Aspiration: what’s in it for the 20 million in poverty?

by Michael Meacher.

According to the official Office of National Statistics’ latest report, 19.3 million persons in the UK had an income below 60% of the national median at some point during 2010-13. That is nearly a third of the entire population, and a higher proportion than for the EU as a whole. The UK figures are even […]

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