Con-Dem budget cuts:

Hitting those on benefits hardest

"Yes it is tough; but it is also fair". This was how Tory chancellor George Osborne described his emergency budget on 22 June 2010. In fact the plans of this government of millionaires represent an enormous threat to the living standards of millions.

Cabinet ministers have since been ordered to plan for cuts of 40% in their departmental budgets. While the Tories and Liberals have tried to argue that the pain will fall evenly, all evidence is to the contrary.

The Institute for Fiscal Policy has found that the poorest 10% will be hit five times harder than the richest by 2015.

Seumas Milne from the Guardian has exposed the "bare-faced deceit" of their lies and explained that "those on benefits will take the greatest hit of all".

Outrageously Osborne attempted to soften up public opinion for cuts in benefits by portraying vulnerable people as 'greedy, fraudulent scroungers', sucking the wealth out of the economy.

"Total welfare spending has increased from £132 billion ten years ago to £192 billion today... It's one reason why there is no money left."

In fact it is the capitalist economic crisis and the bailout of the banks that are responsible for the increase in the government deficit.

Hundreds of thousands have already lost their jobs as a result of this crisis.The government's cuts would mean many more thrown on the scrapheap - forced to survive on ever more paltry benefits.

Yet the government continues to blame claimants. Further misleading statements can be found on the website for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

While cutbacks and privatisation in care services over decades have left people struggling to meet the additional costs of living with a disability, the DWP asserts: "While we are absolutely committed to supporting vulnerable disabled people, over the last decade the system [DLA] has become open to abuse and the numbers claiming have steadily increased."

Meanwhile private profiteering contract companies are salivating at the prospect of being handed public services to run - and destroy.

The boss of one such company, Carillion, is said to be "excited" by the prospect of spending cuts.

Here we draw out what some of these measures will really mean for ordinary people, if they are carried through.

The Socialist invites contributions from those affected by these cuts and those working in public services. Email [email protected]

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Finance appeal

The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.

The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.

The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.

The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.