Post Budget
News
The “Free schools” one of
the flagship proposals from the Conservatives to woo voters
looks to be dead in the water. The Swedish scheme has not
proved to be good value for money with only the very richest
people seeing any benefit. The Swedish schools were set up
because parents did not have a choice, as parents in the UK
have. The Swedish Free schools have to follow the national
curriculum, the UK Free schools have to teach minimum English,
maths, science and information and communications technology.
Cameron now suggests parents should set up schools in their
own homes. The original plan was to take money from the schools
building programme, the treasury expressed concern over this.
The next idea was to use the money taken from the poorest
families, i.e. the free school meals budget. That is
Fair and open Government
take from the poor - give to
the rich. Now the government
intends using £50m from a £200m technology fund
to help pay for set-up costs of schools this year.
The increase in VAT will hit many small
businesses with reduced sales from the higher prices the customer
will have to pay, this is compounded by the increase in the
insurance premium tax from 5% to 6%.For average families this
will mean an extra £425 per year. Cuts in benefits will
target the poor, the sick and the elderly as well as those
out of work. The single parent charity Ginger-Bread said families
having a second child could be £1200 a year worse off.
Save The Children the £2billion extra promised to the
poorest families in child tax credits, would be wiped out
by other measures announced in the Budget. The British Heart
Foundation was disappointed there was no increase on the duty
of tobacco.
With other cuts in benefits, tax increases,
and the higher projected unemployment rate, many companies
will cease trading. The Cuts in the job creation schemes from
the Department of Work and Pensions will swell the unemployed
figures. Parents of young children will have to seek work
when their child reaches 5 years, instead of the current 10
years, adding to the unemployed. Disabled people and those
long term out of work will also be hit, being encouraged to
work.
People who have been out of work for
2 or more years know that a 100 letters a week won’t
generate jobs. The majority of firms who receive 100’s
if not 1,000’s of job applications a week, don’t
bother to even acknowledge them, just bin them. So where are
all these extra jobs coming from?
Noticeable was the fact that there
was No Increase in tobacco and alcohol or fuel, apart from
the VAT increase to 20%
Bankers
and city financiers who got us into this mess– have
got off very lightly. Economists,
and the American President Barack Obama, agree that the government's
zeal for deficit slashing is potentially dangerous and wrong.
They are calling on European economies to stop the hard and
fast cuts, and carry on spending to boost economic recovery.
A slide into a decade-long depression, not just a double-dip
recession, is now likely. The same as Japan did in the 1990’s.
As expected the Lib-dems have taken
a battering for selling out their ideals and their electorate,
for the 22 ministerial jobs.
Nick Clegg was apparently ducking questions over his
role in the reforms, and had to rely on a junior colleague
to answer questions over plans to require a 55% majority vote
to trigger an election. All
credit must go to David
Cameron; he bought and paid for the Lib-Dems at a knock down
price, which he can
cancel when the time is ripe.
Vic
Farron RFT
Express. .
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