LABOUR OR TORIES... SAME MUCK, DIFFERENT PAIL

I was reading an article in the New Statesman about how Labour is trying to out-Tory the Tories on the benefits cap (something that really doesn't affect Scotland at all, but, because of massive rents in some parts of the south east of England [you can pay £18,000 for a very modest hovel in a bad area], is a red hot topic there).

The article is interesting and I have provided a link, but what I thought was interesting was this comment from a correspondent, a retired man who goes by by the nom de plume "Terryec".

I have reproduced it here, without his permission, but in the hopes that he won't mind.  It seems to sum up what I hear from a some ex-Labour supporters here, around town and at the gym.

I am an old socialist and make no apologies for that, I believe we pay our taxes and NI for a reason, and that is to protect ourselves and others who fall on bad times, I was lucky in life not to have any disabilities, bad illnesses or long stretches of unemployment, I am now retired and have a decent if not luxurious lifestyle.

I have seen the standard of living since just after the last world war improve greatly until about twenty years ago when salary caps and cutbacks have become the norm for all but the wealthy industrialists and bankers, very few have a better standard of living than they did in 2001 even after the so called boom years and a so called Labour party.

Labour has now become so far removed from the problems of the working class that they feel it is legitimate to allow the rich to avoid taxes while hitting those that need to rely on the state, don't misunderstand me If you can work it is beholden to you to work.

Last week we had a Labour MP (WTF) Danczuc felt it was OK for a Tory proposal to stop benefits for a further week on people who lose their job bringing them up to 4 weeks without money, I could get by on that as could Danczuc, who gets £1000 a day advising PFI companies, and you wonder why these companies got a grip during the Labour years, but people who get next to nothing can't, how out of touch is that from a "LABOUR", I said a "LABOUR" MP

And this is what we have, as soon as they join the Westminster bubble they forget why people voted for them, it seems it becomes a scramble for as many paid consultancies as they can muster and become different people, what’s the answer, but I do know a lot of people won't be voting Labour again.

I also thought that this was an interesting article from the same magazine.

Iain Duncan Smith's plans will probably not only not save money, but they will COST money whilst making life immeasurably harder and more miserable for poorer people.

All this from a man who lied on his cv about having been to a prestigious Italian university, founded by the Pope in 1308, and having graduated from a management college in England, when in fact, he went to a foreign language college in Italy (a bit like EFOL course here) from which he gained no qualifications and did not even finish his exams, and he attended, as part of his job, a few short course at his employer's staff training department. (Acknowledgement to BBC Newsnight)

Additional Photograph

Found on Facebook with the caption: IDS with his medals for lying

THE REAL TRUTH ABOUT THE ECONOMY

As ever, you had to scour the small print to find the bad news that George Osborne chose to leave out of his Autumn Statement. So here, complete with references to the OBR document, are the ten stats that the Chancellor would rather you didn't know, thanks to the New Statesman. 

In deference to those who are sick of the sight of posh boy Osborne's face, I decided to use the face of his deputy, who presumably was aware of  what was not being announced to the general public, and so is equally guilty of treachery. Actually, they have the same sort of smirk, don't you think.

1. The economy is expected to shrink in the current quarter, with the OBR forecasting a contraction of 0.1 per cent. (p. 48 OBR document). It states that "headline GDP growth is likely to be negative in the final quarter of 2012 as the effect from the Olympics reverses." The day before the last set of growth figures were released, Cameron boasted that "the good news will keep coming". It's now clear that it won't.

2. Despite the government's promise to "make work pay", sixty per cent of the real-terms cut to benefits (they will rise by just 1 per cent for three years) will fall on working households. (Resolution Foundation) A working family on £20,000 with two children will lose £279 a year from next April.

3. The recent fall in unemployment is expected to be reversed as the jobless total rises from 2.5 million to 2.7 million next year. (p. 83 OBR document)

4. Were it not for the inclusion of the expected £3.5bn receipts from the 4G spectrum auction - which hasn't taken place yet - the deficit would be higher this year (£123.8bn) than last year (£121.4bn). (p. 5 OBR document).

5. The measures announced by Osborne are expected to increase GDP by just 0.1 per cent over the forecast period. (p. 51 OBR document). This was no Autumn Statement for growth.

6. Earnings are forecast to rise at a slower rate than inflation until the second quarter of 2014. (p. 86 OBR document). By then, the median full-time wage will be 7.4 per cent below its 2008 level.

7. Public sector job cuts will reach 1.1 million by 2018 (p. 83 OBR document), reducing government employment to its lowest level in post-war history.

8. An extra 400,000 people will be dragged into the 40p tax band by 2015-16, paying an extra £117 per year.

9. The government is expected to lose £16.5bn on its stakes in the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds, up from an estimate of £14.3bn in March. (p. 162 OBR document).

10. Osborne's decision to cut the top rate of income tax from 50p to 45p means the 8,000 people earning a million pounds or more will receive an average tax cut of £107,500 from next April.