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On those £6.2 billion cuts... |
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Wednesday, 26 May 2010 19:46 |
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It's been a busy week since my last e-news, with preparation for yesterday's Queen's Speech, promotion to the full Shadow Cabinet and an office move to deal with (not to mention the goings-on in the leadership election - I'm supporting Ed Miliband if you were wondering ).
This week has so far seen two significant events in Westminster - a press conference where the Chancellor and the Chief Secretary of the Treasury outlined the £6.2 billion of cuts they intend to make to public services this year, and the Queen's Speech and State Opening of Parliament, where the government set out their plans for the year ahead.
Opposition is a tricky prospect in the immediate aftermath of an election - the incoming government can rightly point to the popular support of the electorate to justify everything they do - but it's an important job, so we can't let the government coast through their 'honeymoon' period without holding them to account properly.
This will mean supporting them where I believe they are taking the correct course of action on strengthening parliamentary democracy and bringing Britain out of recession - but opposing them vociferously where I believe their actions, such as some of their targets for spending cuts, are unwarranted.
Spending cuts
In an unusual move Chancellor George Osbourne chose to dodge the House of Commons this week when he announced the £6.2 billion of spending cuts he plans to make this year, in the Treasury Garden (in a canny move he got his Liberal Democrat deputy David Laws to unveil the most unpopular cuts).
So who will be affected?
Young people will have 10,000 fewer university places to apply for - and will find their employment options reduced through the cancellation of the Future Jobs Fund - which would have helped 44,000 unemployed 16-24 year olds back into work.
And there's also the freeze on civil service recruitment, which will cut the number of jobs available and damage the ability of government departments to function effectively as they become increasingly stretched.
The Child Trust Fund - which has been hugely succesful in helping our poorest families save money - has been scrapped entirely. While some have dismissed trust funds as a 'middle class' perk which cannot now be afforded, the reality is that it was an extremely cost effective way of encouraging poorer families to save for their children's future - for many the trust fund could have meant the difference between being able to afford to go to university or not when they reached 18. It will be missed.
There are many more groups and individuals affected and I'll be reporting on those parts of our community affected, in future emails.
The government promised it's cuts would be made through efficiency savings only - I'll leave it to you to judge if they've kept that promise.
The Queen's Speech
Yesterday's Queen Speech saw the Conservative/Liberal government outline 22 Bills they will introduce over the next parliament. Obviously we're still waiting for the ever important detail on many of these Bills (apparently it's where the Devil can be found), and I'll update you as and when this is revealed in the coming months. |
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