The Chancellor’s fiscal statement is the first and best opportunity for the UK Government to correct the mistakes of the last decade.
Welsh public services have endured year after year of inadequate funding settlements from the UK Government and are facing unprecedented challenges this winter. The Prime Minister and Chancellor have a golden opportunity this week to change course and begin to repair the damage done by austerity and inflation.
We want to see the UK Government announce:
The Bank of England is forecasting five quarters of recession from the end of this year, and a major rise in unemployment.
There is no place in a 21st century economy for “trickle-down” economics that puts the interests of the rich first. This outdated mode of thinking has been tested to destruction and has failed repeatedly.
We need an increase in demand to avert a further economic crisis. UK Government needs to learn the lessons following the 2008 crisis where a decade of cut backs in government spending, including cuts in corporation tax, led to weak growth, and productivity and wages flatlining.