IFS says poorest hit hardest by budget: Labour reaction

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

Research from the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) released today indicates that the impact of the recent “austerity budget” will fall hardest on the poorest in society, and that the measures contained in the budget were “regressive”. Labour figures have lined up this morning to lambast the government over the budget, and comment on the findings of the IFS.

UPDATE: Speaking to Sky News, Ed Miliband said that the government has been “exposed” by today’s report:

“They put up VAT to 20% we know it’s an unfair tax that meant they didn’t go ahead with our national insurance change that would have been more progressive and they didn’t tax money, enough money off the banks which would also have been fairer.”

“There are choices you can make and I’m afraid they made the wrong choices and that’s what’s been exposed today.”

“My criticism of this government is they have no plan for economic growth in this country. Indeed, we’re seeing danger signals around the figures on growth and that’s going to be bad for tax receipts, bad for unemployment and bad for the deficit.”

Ed Balls was the first to react this morning, releasing a statement in which he said:

“So much for the Tory-Lib Dem coalition’s promise to be a family friendly government. It is hard to think of any government in the history of our welfare state that has hit children and poor families so heavily and so fast.”

“While Labour’s budgets saw hundreds of thousands of children lifted out of poverty, this Tory-Lib Dem budget will see the poorest families with children lose more than any other group. This report is the final nail in the coffin for George Osborne’s claims to have delivered anything but the most regressive Budget in a generation.”

Shadow work and pensions minister Yvette Cooper responded to the figures saying:

“These figures show the government is pursuing a shocking and unfair attack on children and families. “The Chancellor claimed his Budget didn’t increase child poverty – but only because he deliberately didn’t count cuts in housing benefit, disability benefits and child tax credit that hit families hard.”

“The idea that the poorest families with children should end up being hit hardest is appalling and gives the lie to George Osborne’s claim it was a progressive budget.”

Speaking to Sky News, David Miliband accused George Osborne of “double talk” over the budget, saying:

“It’s a double whammy on the people of Britain because we’re going to be poorer as a result, growth is down, employment down even on the government’s own figures, and we’re going to be a more divided country. That’s not the sort of Britain I want to see….The report today is an absolute torpedo at the claims that were made by George Osborne in the budget. He said he’d be straight talking but in fact in turns out there was double talk not straight talk because you can’t quarrel with the IFS.”