The Chancellor’s claims seem distant from reality.
George Osborne is once again insistent that the UK economy is ‘turning a corner’ after the sale of £3.2 billion worth of Lloyds Banking Group shares on Tuesday.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer painted a rosy picture in his keynote speech on the economy last week, placing himself and the Conservative Party at the forefront of the fight for economic recovery.
“The structure is built. The walls are up,” he said.
“We have laid the foundations. We can’t stop now. We have got to finish the job. And we will.”
The privatisation of 6% of tax payer owned Lloyds Banking Group for a £61 million profit is seen by the chancellor as further evidence that the UK economy is ‘looking better’.
He claimed: ‘‘The money will be used to reduce the national debt by over £0.5bn’.’
He sees privatisation and austerity – huge cuts in government spending, with the unavoidable side effect of huge cuts in the public job sector, as the solution to Britain’s economic suffering.
You would be forgiven for thinking he might be on to something here. BBC’s UK economy page has been a beacon of good news with bold headlines shouting out: Housing market recovery spreads, UK manufacturing booms and UK recovery gathers momentum.
The Chancellor has called for ‘cautious optimism’ towards the UK economy and I’d be very cautious indeed.
Unemployment may have dropped to 7.7%, but 2.487 million people remain unemployed.
The government seems unaware that for the two and half million people still unemployed, there is little reason to look on the bright side. A jobless recovery is no recovery at all. Average pay may have risen by 1.1% but this is of little comfort to the unemployed who receive no wage at all.
There are still over 1.4 million people claiming Job Seekers Allowance. The fact that youth unemployment is rising and 1.45 million people are working part-time because they are unable to secure full-time employment seems to have been conveniently forgotten.
Yes rising house prices do signify a strong economy, however escalating house costs only mean property ownership will become increasingly unachievable.
The UK economy is not ‘turning a corner’ when 13 million people across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are living in poverty.
The Chancellor referred to austerity as: ‘a plan for living standards’.
For those without access to additional funds, forced by the recession into unemployment, low wage jobs or working part time, rising living standards are a distant dream.
The Chancellor was right about three things, British people have made great sacrifices, the economic collapse was worse than we thought and repairing it will take longer than hoped.
Photo courtesy of altogetherfool, with thanks.
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