Today we had a long announcement about the spending cuts the Tories are eagerly making to government services. Nobody is doubting that some spending cuts were necessary but some of the Tories greeted the announcements with a tasteless lack of compassion for those effected.
The age at which the pension age is paid increases from 65 to 66.
And the Tories cheered.
They announced time limits on “incapacity benefit” in the belief that problems stopping people from working will magically go away after a year. Yes there are undoubtedly some on incapacity benefit who could well work, but there are many more who cannot and who are now worried that their income will be cut.
And the Tories cheered.
Overall there was a massive cut in welfare support for the poorest in our society. What a surprise – the Tories want to punish the poor.
And the Tories cheered.
It is estimated that the cuts will lead to something like 490,000 job cuts … perhaps up to 8% of the total jobs in the public sector. There are a lot of people working in the public sector worried about whether they will have a job in a year’s time.
And the Tories cheered.
On top of a public sector pay freeze lasting for four years, today it was announced that pension contributions would increase. Perhaps both are necessary, but it also means that the public sector workers who still have a job will be looking at getting poorer.
And the Tories cheered.
I have only touched on a small amount of what the cuts will effect – partially because the full details are not known yet. But the details do not matter. We all knew that cuts were coming, but what was not expected was the callous attitude of the Tory MPs to those who will suffer because of these cuts. Cheering when the government was announcing cuts that will cause hardship for millions of people is tasteless in the extreme.
Anyone would think the Tories enjoy causing pain to those who are not lucky enough to enjoy a well paid job, and to those who work in the public sector making society a better place rather than working to make fat cats richer.
When it comes to the next election, remember that the Tories cheered when they announced the measures that caused misery for millions.