August 25th, 2010 by Mark Rusling

The Conservative-Lib Dem government’s emergency budget will hit poorest households in wards like Hoe Street harder than it will hit richer households. The leading independent think-tank, the Institute for Fiscal Studies, has analysed the budget’s tax and benefit changes and found that low income families with children will lose the most from the government’s decisions. Cuts to housing benefit, disability allowance and tax credits will take nearly £500 from the poorest families.

The IFS noted that the measures within the budget which were fair were those introduced by the outgoing Labour government. The decisions taken by Conservative and Liberal Democrat Minsters have targeted cuts at the poorest – those least able to afford them. The report concluded: “Low-income households of working age lose the most as a proportion of income from the tax and benefit reforms announced in the emergency Budget”.

We do not dispute that savings have to be made. However, the decisions taken by the Tory-Lib Dem government to cut early and deep are choices, not necessities. The Tories and Lib Dems have chosen to target the cuts at the poorest in society. The government did not have to cut in this way – it is their choice. These are not choices that Labour would have taken.

The decisions to cut in this way will hit our borough hard – no more free swimming, an ending of Labour’s massive school building programme (which led to the fantastic Walthamstow School for Girls in our ward), no more park renovation (which would have re-built Wingfield Park). The list goes on.

We will continue to work for the people in Waltham Forest, but it won’t be easy – most of our funding comes from central government. The government’s choices have targeted poorer boroughs such as our own – when we don’t receive the money, we can’t spend it. However, we will always make our choices in a fair way - a way that has not been chosen by the Tory-Lib Dem government.