David Cameron and George Osborne promised change and they promised to secure the recovery, but their failed policies have delivered a double-dip recession made in Downing Street. Families and businesses are paying the price for their mistakes with prices rising faster than wages, companies going bust and long-term unemployment rising. More people out of work claiming benefits rather than paying taxes means the Government is borrowing £150 billion more than they planned.
In recent weeks we have seen a number of high profile U-turns from the Tory-led Government. From the pasty and caravan taxes to the skip and charity taxes, we’re getting used to the Tory-led Government’s embarrassing about turns.
George Osborne is making a habit of announcing an economic policy decision and then reversing it. But these frequent changes of mind are symptomatic of an incompetent and out of touch Chancellor who keeps making the wrong decisions, forcing him into embarrassing reversals.
And the unravelling Budget is just the latest in a long list of chaotic U-turns from this incompetent and out-of-touch Government. From plans to scrap free school milk to promising to introduce tough knife crime sentences; from cutting child benefit to selling off our forests – David Cameron and his Tory-led Government are stumbling from one reversal to another, seemingly in every Whitehall department.
But on their most disastrous decisions, this Government is going straight ahead.
They have pledged to go straight ahead with their decision to cut the 50p rate of tax – giving a tax cut of over £40,000 to millionaires, while millions pay more.
They are going straight ahead with the unfair ‘granny tax’, which means 4.4 million pensioners, including 487,000 in North West will lose an average of £83 from next year.
And they are refusing to change course on their failed economic plan which has pushed the UK into a double-dip recession, seen long-term youth unemployment in the North West increase by 283% in the last year and which means borrowing is now higher than last year.
The Tories have made the wrong choices for our economy and people in Haslingden and Hyndburn will be amongst those hit hardest. They came into office promising change but their economic plan has failed to deliver; only Labour stands for fairness in tough times which is why we have called on Osborne to make three immediate changes: reverse the cut in the 50p top rate of tax, repeal the ‘granny tax’ and put in place Labour’s plan for jobs and growth including a bankers’ bonus tax to fund youth jobs.
Our economy needs a new direction and we can start with these three changes. But we need your help to make it happen. If you think that we need a new economic plan then please join our campaign at www.labour.org.uk/tory-uturns and send a message to Cameron and Osborne that we need three immediate policy U-turns if we are to get out of this recession made in Downing Street.
