Wealth inequality in the UK is ‘ entrenched ’ under the Tories

Delegates at UNISON’s national conference have torn apart the UK government’s claims to be ‘levelling up’ the country. During a busy session yesterday afternoon, one delegate after another questioned the Tories’ plans, inclinations and ability to deliver equality. While expressing “deep scepticism and anger” at the government’s claim to be levelling up the country, the motion cited recent research that shows: Funding for levelling up pales in comparison to what has been lost during the austerity years; For every job created in the North, just under three were created in London and the Greater South East; In-work poverty has risen in the North to 3.5 million in 2019/20. Proposing the motion, Nicky Ramanandi from Northern region said that, despite levelling up being the so-called “defining mission” of Boris Johnson’s government, “the reality is that it’s the policies of this government that have resulted in the UK becoming one of the most unequal in the world, with widening gaps between rich and poor, Black and white.” Areas receiving allocations from different levelling up funds are still millions of pounds worse off since 2010, she said. Local authorities in her region have seen their budgets cut by an estimated £15m in that time. And the shared prosperity fund, which forms a key component of levelling up, worth £2.6 billion over three years, only replaces cash that poor regions used to receive from the EU. “In our region, we continue...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - Category: Food Science Authors: Tags: Article 2022 National Delegate Conference cost of living equalities Source Type: news