TORY POLICE CUTS
This week Labour launched a new national campaign to stop the Tories going ahead with cuts to the police force. Join us in support as we aim to get 100,000 people signed up to our national petition before George Osborne gives his Spending Review later this month in which he could spell out police cuts of 25 percent.
Labour believes that sensible savings are possible. Police say that efficiency savings of 5-10% would be difficult but doable. But a budget cut in double figures is a dangerous gamble that could take thousands of bobbies off the beat and risk public safety.
Since The Tories have been in government the number of police officers have fallen by 17,000. Should George Osborne go ahead with these drastic cuts, then 22,000 more officers could lose their jobs.
Crime is changing, not falling. The most serious violent and sexual crimes are at their highest levels in years. At the same time, police have to deal with the onset of cyber-crime, counter-terrorism and child sex exploitation and abuse. Now is not the time to put at risk the level of public protection that the police can offer.
Labour’s Andy Burnham forced a Commons vote on Wednesday, urging the Government to listen to police chiefs across the county who have warned about the impact of severe budget cuts.
Former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, crossbench peer Lord John Stevens, current Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe and Lancashire Chief Constable Steve Finnigan among others have all called on the Government to drop their plans.
Just as with tax credits, the Tories were not honest about what their cuts would mean before the election. Now we can see they intend on ending neighbourhood policing as we know it. The Tories will go down as the Government that took thousands of bobbies off the beat.
NHS ‘WINTER CRISIS’
This week’s PMQs saw David Cameron dismiss Jeremy Corbyn’s concerns over the looming NHS ‘winter crisis’. Instead of giving the British public a sure guarantee on the NHS he chose to make political jibes.
Corbyn called Cameron out on his response and said “The issue I raised with the prime minister was the NHS, in case he had forgotten.”
“There are now 3.5 million people waiting for treatment… Will he just get real? The NHS is in a problem.”
Unlike the Tories Labour is not ignoring this impending crisis. The NHS is the jewel in our crown and our record has shown we have sought to support it and fought to protect it. But now under the Tories, the NHS is facing real threats. Hospitals deficits, huge waiting lists, a deep financial crisis.
Key experts and organisations have also warned the Government to take action. Dr Cliff Mann, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said the looming winter would be worse than last year. Last year was indeed the worst winter on record for the NHS. The King’s Fund had previously warned that the NHS would face a rapid deterioration in patient care unless the financial crisis was resolved.
But instead of responding to these concerns with sufficient investment. David Cameron and Jeremy Hunt are continuously putting it at risk with unfair junior doctor contracts, unnecessary top down reorganisation and a drive towards privatisation.
STOP THE TAX CREDIT CUT
After giving the Prime Minister a week to think about it, Jeremy Corbyn asked Cameron for the seventh time running for a guarantee that no-one would lose out from Tory cuts to working tax credits off.
Fear about the impact of working tax credit cuts is being felt by millions of people across the country. With this policy the Government is turning its back on working families.
But again, Cameron failed to give an answer. Instead he responded with details of other Government policies, including the income tax personal allowance and increases in the national minimum wage. All of which experts have stated will not be enough to compensate for the tax credit cuts.
According to Cameron we will have to wait three more weeks to get a Government response on tax credits. This gives us three more weeks of sustained pressure and campaigning to make the Government perform a U-turn, fairly and in full on these unfair tax credit cuts. Please continue to support us and join our campaign here