public spending
Deprived areas to be hit hardest by cuts
This story is jointly written by Will Straw and Tom Phillips George Osborne is fond of saying that, “We’re all […]
The Budget warnings for the NHS
Conservatives increase in real terms funding for NHS will be far short of the increases under Labour and will struggle to keep pace with the pressures of medical technology and an ageing population.
RDAs: architects of their own demise
The poor benighted Regional Development Agencies took yet another blow to the solar plexus in Tuesday’s budget. Buried away on page 31 of the Budget Report was a commitment to see them “abolished.”
Lib Dems have abandoned progressive politics and let me down
Progressive Politics is dying, and unless Charlie Kennedy and Diane Abbott can pull a very surprised rabbit from a hat, not a single party shows any inclination in making this country a fair and decent place to live.
Osborne’s tax changes are regressive (not “progressive”)
To cut income tax – a progressive tax – at the same time as increasing VAT – a regressive tax – is always going to hit the poorest hardest.
George Osborne’s avoidable VAT rise
George Osborne repeatedly said that this was the "unavoidable Budget". But the rise in VAT was only necessary to pay for a series of tax cuts elsewhere.