public services

Hunt gambles on tax as services crumble

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/hunt-gambles-tax-services-crumble

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt leaves 11 Downing Street, London, with his ministerial box before delivering his Budget in the Houses of Parliament, March 6, 2024.

PUBLIC services are at still greater risk as Chancellor Jeremy Hunt gambled the Tories’ election hopes on a last-ditch tax-cutting Budget.

Mr Hunt announced a 2 per cent cut in National Insurance in a bid to put more money in workers’ pockets before Britain goes to the polls later this year.

But the price will be a major squeeze in public spending in the next parliament, with many department budgets likely to fall in real terms.

The Chancellor also abolished the non-dom tax rule which lets the wealthiest avoid paying taxes on overseas earnings, a key Labour pledge, and brought more families within the scope of child benefit payments.

The Budget therefore leaves Labour more politically denuded than ever — it will either have to find other ways to raise the money it had planned for public services from scrapping the non-dom loophole, or more likely drop residual spending commitments altogether.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told MPs that Labour supported the National Insurance cut too, leaving the parties exchanging rhetorical sound and fury on economic policy but with no significant differences.

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/hunt-gambles-tax-services-crumble

Continue ReadingHunt gambles on tax as services crumble

Left Foot Forward

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A selection of articles from the excellent Left Foot Forward blog, this blog’s favourite blog ;)

NHS waiting lists increase by 400,000 after Rishi Sunak’s pledge to bring them down

“He can’t pull the wool over people’s eyes by claiming it’s down to strike action. Patients, staff and the public deserve better.”

Voters prefer spending on public services over tax cuts, poll finds

Sadiq Khan perfectly sums up why Brexit has been a failure for London

Environmental campaigners hold protest in Brighton, calling for immediate end to sewage dumping

Crowdfunder urging UK government to halt arms sales to groups actively engaged in warfare gains momentum

More

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Green Party responds to Rishi Sunak’s cabinet reshuffle 

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Green Party Adrian Ramsay October 2023.
Green Party Adrian Ramsay October 2023.

Responding to Rishi Sunak’s extensive cabinet reshuffle today, co-leader of the Green Party, Adrian Ramsay, said: 

“This reshuffle looks desperate and is a sign that Rishi Sunak has run out of talent. David Cameron started the programme of cuts to our public services which has now brought the NHS to near breaking point. Since his disastrous exit he has cashed in on dodgy lobbying for global oligarchs. And on the odd occasion where Cameron did take a principled stand – such as on maintaining the international aid budget – the government has since reneged.  

“As to the departure of Therese Coffey as Environment Secretary, nature can at least temporarily breathe a sigh of relief as we await to see who replaces her. She put in place a subsidy system which is not working for farmers or the environment, and she has failed to tackle the blight of sewage in our rivers – a situation she herself described as ‘a scandal’ when I challenged her on it at a public meeting in Suffolk last month. 

“We need a fresh start on the environment, with real action to stop the water companies profiting from failure and a proper system of nature-friendly farming payments which are easy for farmers to access.  

“This chaotic and unprincipled government has reached the end of the road. It is doing great harm to the country. We need a general election now.” 

Continue ReadingGreen Party responds to Rishi Sunak’s cabinet reshuffle 

Manchester launches first locally controlled bus service in four decades

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https://leftfootforward.org/2023/09/manchester-launches-first-locally-controlled-bus-service-in-four-decades/

“I hope it signals the start of a public transport revolution across the whole of England,” says Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham.

Greater Manchester has retaken control of its buses after almost 40 years of deregulation.

As bus services were deregulated across the UK in 1986 – except in London where services remained under local control – the move represents the biggest change to public transport in a generation.

The privatisation of Britain’s bus sector was introduced by Margaret Thatcher’s government. At the time, the government predicted that the move would lead to “lower fares, new services, and more passengers,” while removing “any potential liability on the taxpayer.”

Instead, bus use has been in decline ever since, and today, much of the sector is in crisis, with taxpayers subsidising corporate profits. In Greater Manchester, the number of passengers using buses has fallen from 355m in 1986/87, to just over 182m at the end of 2019, just before Covid.

From September 24, a fleet of 50 zero-emission Bee Network-branded buses (ZEBs) will be in service. The buses offer a range of improved features for passengers, including two bays for wheelchair users, anti-slip flooring, audio and visual announcement systems, and hearing induction loops. Over the next two years, existing buses in Greater Manchester will be gradually upgraded to Bee Network buses.

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https://leftfootforward.org/2023/09/manchester-launches-first-locally-controlled-bus-service-in-four-decades/

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The public think everything has got worse under the Tories, a new poll has found

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https://leftfootforward.org/2023/09/the-public-think-everything-has-got-worse-under-the-tories-a-new-poll-has-found/

Image of InBedWithBigOil by Not Here To Be Liked + Hex Prints from Just Stop Oil's You May Find Yourself... art auction. Rishi Sunak, Fossil Fuels and Rupert Murdoch appear.
Image of InBedWithBigOil by Not Here To Be Liked + Hex Prints from Just Stop Oil’s You May Find Yourself… art auction featuring Rishi Sunak, Fossil Fuels and Rupert Murdoch.

Rishi Sunak’s government gives of the strong odour of failure. From the cost of living crisis to collapsing school buildings and from high interest whacking mortgage holders to shocking NHS waiting lists, there’s a growing sense that Britain under the Tories just isn’t working.

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The poll, reported first by Byline Times shows that the public think the Tories are failing on almost every major issue. It’s damning stuff. Here are the results:

  • 61% of voters say public services overall have got worse under the Tories
  • 67% say the NHS has got worse under the Tories
  • 54% say schools have got worse under the Tories
  • 49% think crime has increased under the Tories (with just 8% thinking it’s gone down)
  • 53% think the UK is doing worse than other similar countries economically

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https://leftfootforward.org/2023/09/the-public-think-everything-has-got-worse-under-the-tories-a-new-poll-has-found/

Continue ReadingThe public think everything has got worse under the Tories, a new poll has found