18 March 2015
Budget 2015: St Helens Green Party reaction
Today’s budget brought little cheer for the thousands of people in St Helens – waged and unwaged – who are struggling to get by.
St Helens Green Party calls for an immediate end to austerity-led economics and a rebalancing of the economy so that it works for the common good.
Greens are unashamed about ambitions to increase government spending on essential services – and to find the income from high-end taxation and clamping down on tax dodging to pay for it.
Elizabeth Ward, prospective parliamentary candidate for St Helens North says:
“Austerity economics has failed. St Helens desperately needs a radical departure away from business-as-usual economics and business-as-usual politics, but that’s exactly what we’ve got.
“This final Coalition budget offers little hope to the many thousands in our borough who are struggling to get by. Too many people are scraping a living on lower incomes while facing mounting household debts. In the world’s sixth-biggest economy, people should not have to queue at food banks or work in insecure jobs that don’t pay enough to get by on.
“We need an economy that works for the common good, that pays people a Living Wage, and where we invest in renewable technologies that create jobs, cut fuel bills and help combat climate change.”
James Chan, prospective parliamentary candidate for St Helens South adds:
“There’s an election coming, so we’ve got an electioneering budget from a chancellor who puts politics above people.
“Nobody I have spoken to in recent weeks seriously believes that we are ‘all in this together’. Look around St Helens and you’ll see just how out of touch this government is.
“Look at our food banks, the public sector jobs and services being slashed, the zero-hours contacts and the brutal welfare cuts. All this while the richest have seen their own wealth rise.”
Chancellor George Osborne also announced £1.3billion of tax cuts for fossil fuel production, with no new investment in renewables.
Francis Williams, town centre local election candidate says:
“The fracking executives who have got their eyes on Newton, Bold and Haydock have just received another eye-watering tax break – and the St Helens public will foot the bill for the clean up.
"Fossil fuel dinosaurs and their political friends are dragging us back from the cusp of a green energy revolution. This is a hugely wasted economic opportunity to drive the transition to a zero carbon economy.
“Now is the time to divest from fossil fuels not drive forward further exploration. We know that two thirds of the known fossil fuels must remain in the ground if we are to limit global warming to 2C.”
St Helens Green Party RSS Feed