Tories and Lib Dems choose £1m more cuts in York than are necessary

By James Alexander

The cause of the global economic crisis rests on the shoulders of bankers, not the most vulnerable in our society who the Conservative-led Government want to pay for their mess.

Labour’s fiscal stimulus stopped a recession becoming a depression and ensured York’s number of unemployed was half that of the previous Conservative recession. Many governments around the world including the United States followed Labour’s lead. This action led to an increase in national debt and an increase in the deficit. However the debt, deficit and current account deficit were all less in 2008 than when Labour came to power. Britain entered the biggest recession in 60 years with less debt than France, Italy and Germany and left with less debt than France, Italy and Germany. Labour’s actions led to UK national debt as a percentage of GDP reaching 1972 levels. The world didn’t end then and it won’t end now.

I am not a deficit denier, if Labour had won a general election there would also be reductions in public expenditure – but these would not be imposed at the same breakneck speed or depth as by the Tories and their Lib Dem allies. Bringing forward Labour’s reduction plans by just one year loses the country £26bn in tax revenue. As we are seeing this also increases unemployment and inflation.

Labour’s plan would have halved the deficit in four years. The Conservative-led government wants the deficit eradicated in the same duration. Conservatives do not believe in the public sector as a means to help the most vulnerable in society. This is exemplified by the share of cuts local government has to burden. Eradication of the deficit is not the reason for the cuts, it is a cover for them. Conservatives also realise there is a direct correlation between concentration of public sector workers and Labour support. To them this is the miners all over again, except this time they are supported by the Liberal Democrats.

Their cuts programme is a political choice that puts ideology and party loyalty above loyalty to the people.

It is politically expedient to blame Labour for the economic crisis but this is simply not true. Did Labour cause the economic crisis in Ireland, in Greece, in the United States? No credible person actually believes this. If Labour was to blame, George Osborne needs to answer a few questions:

1. Why was it wrong for Labour to bail out the banking sector but it is ok for George Osborne to lend money to Ireland to bail out their banks?
2. If Labour was overspending by so much then why did the Conservatives say they would match Labour’s spending plans until as late as January 2010?
3. Why was it wrong for Labour since 1997 to increase national debt as a percentage of GDP by 11.2% but it was ok for the Major government to increase this by 15.2%?
4. And closer to home, why if public debt is so wrong did York Conservatives and Liberal Democrats reject a Labour plan to save almost £1m in council services from cuts whilst still reducing the council’s debt by £1.5m, instead voting through a budget that sees almost £1m of unnecessary cuts and a £400,000 increase in council debt?

The previous Labour government gave City of York Council an additional £52m over the last eight years of Liberal Democrat control. Each annual increase resulted in Liberal Democrat calls that such increases were not enough. Not once did they say that the previous Labour government was over-spending. This year the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives did a deal to propose a council budget that in one year cuts 40% of the additional money Labour gave the council over the last eight.

For the fourth year in a row the ruling Liberal Democrats did a deal with the Conservatives to see their budget pass. This year sees £21m of cuts, 170 job losses, 55 services facing cuts and 12 scrapped altogether. Cuts include £1m from children’s centres, 80% from the Holocaust Memorial Day budget, reductions in library staff and devastating cuts to youth services and short breaks for disabled children. The average cut in children’s services is 48% where as the average cut in city strategy is 13%. Labour’s plan prioritised children from the cuts whereas the Conservative-Liberal Democrat plan prioritised them for the cuts.

Labour’s alternative budget would save almost £1m of services from cuts while still reducing the council’s debt by £1.5m. Our plan was signed off as legal and balanced by the council’s finance officer and can be found at www.yorklabouralternative.info.

Liberal Democrats and Conservatives voted down this plan and instead voted for almost £1m of unnecessary cuts and for an increase in the council’s debt. Just as their cuts programme is a political choice nationally, it is the same locally and again they put ideology and party loyalty above loyalty to the people.

If Labour wins control of City of York Council in May, Labour will enact our budget and save almost £1m of services from unnecessary, politically driven cuts and start a process of service reform to protect residents from the worst of Conservative-Liberal Democrat cuts coming over the next few years.

York deserves better.

James Alexander is leader of City of York Council’s Labour Opposition Group