{"id":10637,"date":"2016-11-18T15:33:32","date_gmt":"2016-11-18T15:33:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=10637"},"modified":"2016-11-21T16:03:20","modified_gmt":"2016-11-21T16:03:20","slug":"tougher-times-ahead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=10637","title":{"rendered":"Tougher times ahead?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The pressure is on for the Treasury to help \u00e2\u20ac\u0098just about managing\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 families in next week\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Autumn Statement, with groups and MPs from all sides calling for measures to help those households who are now struggling and are expected to suffer even more under a projected post-Brexit slump.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Just about managing\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 families \u00e2\u20ac\u201c now referred to as \u00e2\u20ac\u0098jams\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 in Whitehall \u00e2\u20ac\u201c is a new term coined by Theresa May\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s government, akin to David Cameron\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0098hard-working families\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 or Ed Miliband\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0098squeezed middle\u00e2\u20ac\u2122.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chancellor Phillip Hammond is expected to paint for the public a grim picture of the economic challenges that lie ahead as the UK leaves the EU \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the Financial Times<\/em> reported that Hammond will admit that instead of the envisioned budget surplus planned for 2020, the Brexit bill could leave a gaping \u00c2\u0141100bn black hole<\/a> in public finances.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Against this backdrop, the Treasury has been said to be reticent to promise any big giveaways. But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been expected that measures Hammond will announce will include a continued freeze in fuel duty, cuts to air passenger duty, additional childcare subsidies, and following through with Tory manifesto pledges on tax cuts.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If the government is indeed attempting to reach out to so-called \u00e2\u20ac\u0098jams\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 just who are these households? The Resolution Foundation, an organisation aimed at improving living standards for low- and middle-income earners, defines jams as those earning between \u00c2\u014112,000 and \u00c2\u014134,000 each year \u00e2\u20ac\u201c those households, essentially, who are just barely able to pay their bills each month.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There are an estimated 6m people who are part of this group \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and as the reality of post-Brexit economics sets in, a world in which inflation rises and pay growth slows \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it is they who will need the greatest support.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Not the best way <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

But the proposals on the table next week \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the anticipated minor concessions on fuel and air duty, childcare subsidies and tax giveaways \u00e2\u20ac\u201c are not, according to the Resolution Foundation, the best way to help these \u00e2\u20ac\u0098just about managing\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 families that the government seems so keen to support.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After all, a couple who can barely feed their children \u00e2\u20ac\u201c those for whom a holiday is a memory from the distant past \u00e2\u20ac\u201c will in no way benefit from cuts to air passenger duty. And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been shown that any benefits from raising income tax thresholds almost always accrue to the already wealthy.<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

No, the best way to give \u00e2\u20ac\u0098jams\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 much-needed relief now, many have argued, is to end government austerity and row back on the deep cuts to Universal Credit and the four-year freeze on working-age benefits.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Resolution Foundation has pointed out<\/a> that the worst of these inherited cuts from the previous government have not yet had their full effect \u00e2\u20ac\u201c once they really start to bite, with \u00e2\u20ac\u0098just managing\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 families \u00c2\u0141200 a month worse off \u00e2\u20ac\u201c inflation will begin to spike, creating a living standards crisis few can begin to imagine.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ending cuts now has become a rallying cry that has united MPs across the political spectrum. In a debate last night<\/a> (November 17) in Parliament, a backbench SNP motion to reverse cuts to Universal Credit and Employment Support Allowance, received cross-party support \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 127 MPs voted in favour and none voted against it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Although the motion was only symbolic, it has added to the growing pressure on the government to undo its predecessors\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 policies that have hurt struggling households the most.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tory MP Heidi Allen, who has been one of the most vocal Conservative politicians calling for a cuts reversal, said last night that the cuts were \u00e2\u20ac\u015bso regretted by colleagues on my side of the House.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI have a guiding principle in life,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she noted. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bAlways listen to the loudest voice in your head. I think we all know what that voice is saying. Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just pause these cuts. The risk of damage is high. The financial cost to pause is low. What kind of a government do we want to be?\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

IDS: end freeze call <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Even the infamous welfare slasher Iain Duncan Smith, the former work and pensions secretary, has also joined<\/a> the chorus of voices calling for Universal Credit cuts and the working-age benefits freeze to end.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe have a very good opportunity to do something that is bold and right for those we really want to improve the lives of,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said earlier this week.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite, too, is calling for an immediate end to Universal Credit cuts to offer struggling families the support they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll need as inflation begins to rise.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But Unite assistant general secretary Steve Turner said the chancellor must go much further in his Autumn Statement if his government truly intends to be one that stands by \u00e2\u20ac\u0098just about managing\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 families.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bReversing the cuts to UC and working-age benefits is the first step \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and it is vital the government does this. But we cannot settle for what end up being giveaways for the rich that masquerade as support for struggling families,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bA cost-of-living crisis is on the horizon and these families need real relief now \u00e2\u20ac\u201c ending austerity immediately, including lifting the public sector pay cap and the working-age benefits freeze, coupled with a hike in the minimum wage, should be the most immediate priorities.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThese should be implemented alongside other measures that build long-term, shared economic prosperity, including developing an active industrial strategy that invests in our strengths in manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, digital and creative industries, where highly-skilled, well-paid jobs are the norm, not the exception.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Shadow business secretary Clive Lewis MP outlined yesterday what, precisely, such an industrial strategy might look like \u00e2\u20ac\u201c find out more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The pressure is on for the Treasury to help \u00e2\u20ac\u0098just about managing\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 families in next week\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Autumn Statement, with groups and MPs from all sides calling for measures to help those households who are now struggling and are expected to suffer even more under a projected post-Brexit slump.   \u00e2\u20ac\u0098Just about managing\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 families \u00e2\u20ac\u201c now […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3539,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[76,631],"wps_subtitle":"Trouble coping? Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get into a \u00e2\u20ac\u0098jam\u00e2\u20ac\u2122","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10637"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10637"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10637\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10638,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10637\/revisions\/10638"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}