Five reasons why George Osborne is wrong

George Osborne’s declaration that his economic policy is “working” will have come as something of a shock to millions of families up and down the country.

Here are five reasons why George Osborne is wrong:

1)      Plan A has not brought the growth he promised

As Will Straw points out, Osborne promised growth of 6.9% over 3 years, but instead there has only been a miniscule 1.8%. Osborne is setting the bar incredibly low for what counts as an economic victory.

2)      His government is worst in recorded history for living standards

As LFF editor James Bloodworth wrote last month, this government has seen 36 months of falling wages, which is more than under any Prime Minister on record. Prices have risen faster than wages in all but one month under this government.

3)      Osborne won’t meet his deficit reduction plan

In 2010 Osborne declared that he would eliminate the structural deficit and make sure that debt is falling as a proportion of GDP. He won’t achieve either target in this parliament.

4)      Long-term unemployment is highest since 1996

There are 915, 000 people in the UK who have been unemployed for longer than a year. This is 32, 000 more than last year. 474, 000 people have been out of work for more than two years.

5)      The rise of foodbanks

The Coalition has presided over a staggering rise in the number of people using food banks. The number of people using food banks has jumped from 128, 697 in 2011-12 to 346,992 in 2012-13.