Sheffield Green Group responded to questions on Labour’s Budget Statement for ‘The Star’
What do you think of the measures (to be) introduced?
“The government is in a desperate pickle and it shows. It desperately needs to raise taxes to fill the holes left by the previous government but has still ruled out taxing the people with the broadest shoulders – the very, very wealthy.
“Measures like a modest increase in the minimum wage are welcome and needed. This will, of course, put an extra financial burden on employers, in addition to the increase in employers’ national insurance. This will particularly affect public sector employers like hospitals and local councils.
A new approach to carer’s allowances and extra money for special educational needs are also welcome.
“However, things like the burden of rising bus fares will fall far more on lower income households. It’s astonishing that a so-called Labour government will put up bus fares by 50% whilst spending £3 billion to keep fuel duty down for petrol and Diesel. This is unhelpful when we are trying to give people decent public transport options so they can choose to leave cars at home. All in all, it looks very much like climate-denial and continuing austerity.”
-Do you think the proposed tax increases and other increases (such as the bus fare cap) on the working people are fair?
“A fairer system would be to tax the very wealthy, taxing income from assets the same as income from work. Greens want those with the broadest shoulders to contribute more in taxes – those with assets above £10 million at 1% and assets above £1bn at 2% annually. With only a very small minority of people subject to a wealth tax, the overwhelming majority would benefit and people who are struggling would not have to bear the burden.
“Regarding the increased bus fares, it’s really disappointing that our Labour Mayor isn’t showing initiative like his counterpart in Greater Manchester who has already stated they will keep the cap at £2 for their residents.”
Do you think the people of Sheffield will welcome the changes?
“It’s a big budget and the devil will be in the detail but we don’t think anyone is going to see the big change they had been hoping for after 14 years of the Conservative government. It is going to look very much the same. What people will see is bus fares going up by 50% and the service not getting better. We risk more cuts to local services as local councils continue to feel the pinch. The budget will add big pressures to local councils’ wage bills so we need to see the detail of how the government will compensate for these extra costs.
“It’s unlikely that people in Sheffield will agree with the Chancellor that there’s “no return to austerity.”
What do you think Sheffield will gain by these measures?
“The big question is what Sheffield will not gain. This city is in a great place to benefit from investment in green businesses but we haven’t seen any indication of this type of investment in this area. We have the technology and people to insulate homes and businesses, and promote solar and wind power generation. Instead the government green offer is just further research into questionable “carbon capture” technology instead of real action.
“Sheffield Supertram was mentioned in the Chancellor’s speech and we know that £400 million is needed to replace a large part of the capital infrastructure. There is an extra £200 million allocated for city transport projects across the whole country but we don’t know how much Sheffield will see of this money.
“We will need to work through the detail of the budget but the headline is that there is no more money for councils or local services and 2% cuts to most government departments. This is going to look very much like the previous government.”
