On the back of this month’’s jobless figures, the government has been crowing that the austerity agenda is working and claims there are more people in work than ever-before.
Those claims have been eagerly published and broadcast with little analysis of the statistics behind them. We even had an absurd sub-head in the free London Evening Standard proclaiming “British economy powers out of austerity era”.
If you were a Martian, you would think the economy is booming, we are back in profit and everybody has a great standard of living.
But back on Earth, look closely and the truth is far more painful for millions of people.
So-called new jobs are low-paid part-time or zero hours and those on workfare are deleted from the jobless figures, and then counted as employed. And many who are denied social security are excluded from the claimants’ count.
Food banks are feeding more and more people. With prices continuing to rise faster than wages, it will become even more difficult for the unwaged and the lowest paid to feed themselves and their families.
And we have the senseless situation where people in work have to rely on benefits and other hand-outs because their bosses won’t pay a living wage.
Growing inequality is the scourge of this decade. And it is fast becoming the legacy of this Government. No amount of talking up the economy can hide it. The rich are allowed to get richer at the expense of the poor.
