That opportunity has been missed.
Rather than taking the long overdue and necessary action to reduce the enormous levels of poverty caused by soaring energy bills, the Chancellor has protected the pockets of global corporations and their bosses. The government’s focus should have been ensuring workers across all industries receive the pay rise they desperately need and fully deserve.
Following his announcement, our NHS remains at breaking point, our schools are still strapped for cash and energy companies continue to make obscene profits. Over a decade of Tory austerity has left our public services crumbling and in desperate need of proper funding. The government continues to pour money into military escalation in Ukraine when it should focus on brokering peace in Europe around the world.
Every penny spent on war is money that could be spent giving all workers the pay rise they deserve, our schools, hospitals and securing the planet for future generations with major investment in a Green New Deal and decarbonisation of our economy.
Responding to the budget, Peace & Justice Project founder, Jeremy Corbyn MP said:
“Today, the Chancellor could have announced a wealth tax to give people a proper pay rise and save our NHS. His failure to do so will prolong the suffering of those in poverty and deepen the crisis in our public services. Inequality is a political choice, not an economic necessity.”