Despite Theresa May’s claim that she would make Britain a country that works for everyone, and initial speculation that she was going to end austerity, unfortunately the autumn budget statement hasn't borne that out. George Osborne’s spending plans, set out in the 2015 Comprehensive Spending Review, remain in place; so although there have been some small amounts of infrastructure investment, essentially the cuts and austerity agenda still prevails. There has, for example, been no reversal of the extremely damaging £30 a week cut to the Employment and Support Allowance for people with disabilities.
During these first few months of Mrs May’s premiership we have also seen the start of the Trident replacement programme – the first metal has actually been cut on the first new submarine. As we announced earlier this year, the anticipated cost of the replacement is around £205 billion – a figure not challenged by the government. Indeed, it is likely to have increased since the impact of Brexit on the value of sterling. At a time when government borrowing is set to be £122 billion higher than predicted in the Budget in March, it looks like the government has not only wrong priorities in terms of what it is spending our money on, but a failing economic policy even in their own terms.
The cost of Trident replacement and what we could spend the money on instead, remains a central part of our work to get the programme cancelled. I’m pleased to say we have a great new edition of the very popular People not Trident report, with an expert economist’s introduction on what £205 billion could do, invested in housing, jobs or education. We’re also delighted to have new contributions from organisations like Keep our NHS Public, Medact, Greenpeace and the NUT.
Particularly poignant is the contribution from Youth Employment UK:
“Youth unemployment has been rising since 2005. The emotional damage caused is staggering, with young people who experience long-term unemployment at a high risk of experiencing long-term mental health problems…
“We recommend the government invest financial support to systematically reduce youth unemployment. Secondary schools should be provided with a ring-fenced budget of a minimum of £50,000 each to ensure a quality careers and employability education for all students.”
Wise words indeed which our government would do well to heed.
Please get in touch for copies of the new report. Contact campaigns@cnduk.org or call us on 0207 700 2393.