Government Spending Review: a reckless gamble with no plan for growth or jobs. Mark says there is an alternative

Mark has warned that the cuts announced in the Chancellor’s Comprehensive Spending Review risk plunging the economy back into recession without any plan to secure a return to sustained growth and create new jobs.

He said:

“The Chancellor claimed that the principles underlying the Review were reform, fairness and growth. The reality was that reform was a codeword for drastic cuts which are neither fair nor provide investment for the future.

“It is already clear that the poorest and most vulnerable in our society will be amongst the biggest losers after already being hit by cuts by the City Council over the last year. Meanwhile the banks which caused the financial crisis have been let off lightly.

“I will be taking part in the Scottish TUC protest against the cuts in Edinburgh on Saturday, 23 October.

“I urge local people and community groups who are being hit by the cuts to let me know how they are being affected, so I can make sure I can speak up on local people’s behalf in Parliament.

“Despite Coalition claims, there is a clear alternative: getting the economy growing again is the best way to reduce the deficit and that requires real investment – in skills, industry and infrastructure.”

The cuts in welfare spending announced yesterday added another £7 billion to the £11 billion set out in the June Budget. Overall, public spending will be slashed by £81 billion - the most severe cuts since the 1920s.

You can read the alternative set out by the Shadow Chancellor, Alan Johnson in a speech ahead of the Comprehensive Review here.

A glance at the detail of the changes makes clear that the claims made by the Chancellor just don’t add up. He insisted that the Review would

Ensure that work always pays – this doesn’t square with cutting working tax credits and help for working mothers with child care costs

Be fair so that those with the broadest shoulders bear the largest burden – actually the banks are being asked for less than a third of what they will pay out in bonuses this year whilst benefits for the disabled will be cut

The Government admits that as a result of the Review nearly 500,000 jobs will be lost in the public sector and there is obviously concern about how that will affect Edinburgh with the Scottish Government being a large employer here. According to independent analysts, this will be at least matched in the private sector as a large number of private companies, particularly in construction, depend on public sector contracts.

That is why it is fair to suggest that the Government has deliberately seized the opportunity to shrink the size of the state. The rise in the public deficit was the result of the financial crisis but those who can least afford to pay who have just been sent the bill.

To let Mark know how you are being affected by the cuts, you can email him at mark@marklazarowicz.org.uk or post a comment on his blog.