ConDem nation

They’ve hurt us – plain and simple.

Since the ConDem Coalition came in they’ve tried to sell off the NHS while running it into the ground. Legal aid has been slashed, university tuition fees trebled. The minimum wage is nowhere near enough to live on yet minimum wage jobs have grown. Zero hours contracts have exploited 1.4m workers who earn £300 a week less than permanent staff. Just one in 40 new jobs is full time.

Public sector pay has fallen. People can’t afford the hike in employment tribunal fees. Payday loaners have cashed in on the misery of millions.

How many reasons are there for not wanting another government like this one? We’ve detailed some of their ‘diary of despair’ highlights to remind you of exactly what they’ve achieved for this country.

Diary of despair

2010

Just weeks after their election victory the ConDems start as they mean to go on by freezing public sector for two years. In October the EMA is abolished and in November

Clarke unveils plans to reform legal aid in England – slashing it by £350m and denying justice to millions.

And let’s not forget the spectre at Nick Clegg’s feast – tuition fees. Many students now leave with debts of over £40k – some may never be able to pay the debt off.

2011

As the year started the squeeze was on – with VAT up to 20 per cent, wages stagnating and families facing the worst spending squeeze since the 1970s. Cable releases a ‘bosses charter’ telling bosses how easy it is to sack workers and cut pay.

November was a bad month for old and young alike with cuts to public sector pensions, youth unemployment tops one million and employers able to sack you unfairly in your first two years of employment.

2012

This was when the ConDems really got to grips with dismantling the NHS. In March the Health and Social Care Act gave the green light to mass NHS privatisation. In May Unite fought plans to sell off core police functions to the highest bidder. In October plans began to raise the retirement age to 68 – and by November payday loaners were making lives unbearable for millions.

2013

This was a bumper year for ConDem havoc. First there were threats to ambulance services, closely followed by the onset of the Bedroom Tax and building new homes fell to an all-time low.

April was a particularly miserable month as the Bedroom Tax took hold, IDS slashed benefits and austerity left millions impoverished. But 13,000 millionaires got a tax cut of over ÂŁ100k. Statutory collective redundancies consult time limit is halved from 90 to 45 days.

Zero hours was another hallmark of 2013 – with estimates of 5.5m people being affected. Results in from the previous year’s hike in ET fees to £1250 showed the number of tribunals collapsed by over 70 per cent as many are priced out of justice.

Hundreds of thousands protest in October – calling for jobs not more cuts. The Royal Mail is flogged off and in November benefit sanctions soar. The year ends on an austerity high – with increasing numbers using food banks to survive.

2014

The people take to the streets – this time over the government’s decision to cut the independent living fund for disabled people. Tax gaps widens and campaigners call for reforms, while in October thousands march – this time for a pay rise. High inflation and stagnant pay see wages fall for 40 months – the longest stretch since Victorian times.

With research showing just one in 40 new net jobs are full time by December there’s conclusive evidence Unite members have had enough. Around 150 days of strike action were taken – working people had simply had enough.

2015

This year started with a promise from the Tories – if re-elected they will bring in further legal shackles for unions and the right to strike. But on a positive note in January the NHS unions’ fight for pay justice forces the government to finally negotiate NHS pay.

The diary of despair speaks for itself. Tomorrow you can end this .