UNISON opinion: The budget will deliver more cuts and more pain

By UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea Working people are bearing a triple burden. The cost of living crisis is still here, taxes are weighing heavy on workers, and in return, we’re getting broken public services that can’t guarantee support for everyone. It’s even more galling for public service workers – they spend their working lives propping up essential services, only to be undermined at every turn by the Westminster government. Underfunding services and undervaluing the workforce sabotages every effort made in hospitals, councils, schools, care homes and in the community. The prime minister and the chancellor keep telling the public to stick with the plan, but the plan failed a long time ago. Tomorrow’s Budget is an opportunity to help the economy grow, invest in public services, tackle low pay and ensure the country is not only prepared for the challenges ahead, but building a better future for everyone. It will likely fail on all counts, with the Conservatives hoping to take off the edge with a sweetener gimmick. But gimmicks and slogans don’t put food on the table. Rishi’s recession threatens to trap even more people into poverty, and the Treasury seems poised to further trash our public services with more cuts to spending. They’ll try and justify it with a small cut to income tax or national insurance. Given the choice, the public would rather miss out on this ploy if it means properly investing in our struggling NHS, broken social care and chi...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: Article General Secretary's blog budget Christina McAnea Opinion Source Type: news