JULIE MORGAN AM

LABOUR WELSH ASSEMBLY MEMBER FOR CARDIFF NORTH

 

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THE STATE OF THE ECONOMY

You will no doubt have heard members of the coalition government speak about the economy and whenever they do, it’s almost inevitable that they use the phrase “the mess Labour has left us with”. They go on to use this as a justification for spending cuts that cut far too deeply and far too quickly.

So – is this really true? Are our economic troubles really Labour’s fault?
Ed Miliband has addressed the coalition’s deceit about the past himself – you can read what he says here .

Several people have also raised this issue with me.
Here are the main points of a longer article I wrote about the economy – you can read it here.  
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Prior to the collapse of the banking sector, Britain had the lowest net debt of any large G7 country (the second lowest overall), with the net debt being lower than that inherited in 1997 from the Conservatives.

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Labour’s decision to keep the economy afloat rather than cut immediately was imitated throughout the world. This approach is credited with saving jobs, preventing house repossessions, and avoiding a greater depression.

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Labour’s increased public spending since 1997 was in large part a response to chronic underinvestment in public services by the Conservatives and was, in fact, supported by them up until November 2008.

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Labour would reduce the deficit more slowly (halve it by 2013-14), focus on growth and not just cuts, be supportive of public services, and focus on gaining revenue from the banks.

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These cuts, despite the Con-Dem coalition's claims of "fairness," will hit the poorest the hardest. As the recent IFS report points out, the burden placed on the poorest will be two and a half times that placed on the richest in our society.

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This would not happen under Labour.


VAT

 

The Con-Dem government has increased VAT to 20%. This is the wrong tax at the wrong time.

 

See my press release about VAT here.

 

See my leaflet about VAT here.