In a speech on 2 April 2013 the chancellor George Osborne talked about having a system that supported ‘people who do the right thing – who get up in the morning and work hard.’
And yet the government is trying to rush through cuts to tax credits that will mean ordinary public service workers lose up to £3,000 a year: and thousands more in the lifetime of this parliament.
This is about ordinary people who do vital jobs that keep our public services running effectively. It is about cooks, cleaners, hospital porters, refuse collectors and teaching assistants. It is about the people who drive buses for children with special needs, PCSOs, traffic wardens, admin staff, and benefits assessors. It is about care workers, healthcare assistants, medical secretaries and nurses.
We’ve crunched the numbers and if these cuts are passed they are all set to have their income cut by thousands of pounds in 2016 and every year after that.
The chancellor knows that what he’s suggesting is scandalous – even his fellow Conservative MP Guto Bebb has described the impact of the cuts as ‘eye-wateringly painful.’
And that’s why he’s trying to rush it through parliament next Tuesday.
I’m writing to every MP urging them to vote against these cuts. Please do the same.