A Future That Works

A Future That Works
NO2aTory/Liberal coalition - Vote with your feet for an alternative to a neo-liberal economy and neo-conservative state Yes2aLeftFront and a Red/Green Left Alliance

Saturday 30 July 2011

Unite's recovery Plan4Britain

Unions warned that an economic Plan B is more urgent than ever after the coalition's economic plans started to come apart at the seams this week with more poor growth figures.

Len McCluskey General Secretary of Unite the union says ‘‘With every passing month, it is becoming clearer and clearer that the government's monetarist and fiscal policies are not delivering the level of growth necessary for the British economy to recover…For example, UK manufacturing sector growth fell to its lowest rate for 21 months in June as export orders slumped….What we need to remember is that Britain stayed out of the Eurozone to give it more freedom of economic action many of the problems we face are home-grown and can be laid directly at the door of George Osborne’’.

PCS leader Mark Serwotka says the government should be creating jobs so people have money to spend ‘‘Instead of building confidence the government is spreading misery and anxiety and spending money on making people redundant rather than providing quality public services…Spending in the wider economy is also hit because millions of public-sector workers are enduring a pay freeze while inflation is high and the cost of household necessities like energy are soaring’’.

GMB union leader Paul Kenny said ‘‘George Osborne is blind to the fact that the economy is stalling as a direct result of his policies. His impersonation of Marie Antoinette has got to stop as all the cake shops shut’’.

Len McCluskey is calling for a rescue package which includes:

Boosting manufacturing capacity - starting by reversing the Bombardier decision and giving the train carriage contract to the Derby plant, coupled with an urgent review of government procurement policy

Reforming the taxation system, so that the rich and City elite pay more

Closing the tax avoidance loopholes that are costing the Exchequer billions in lost revenue

Ordering the banks, especially those owned by the taxpayer, to relax their lending policies to help industry obtain money to generate new jobs

Creating a Strategic Investment Bank

Radically rethinking the budget deficit strategy that is hitting public services and the NHS and slashing the public-sector workforce

Scrapping the private finance initiatives (PFIs) which are adding enormously to the bill for new hospitals, schools and libraries

2 comments:

  1. Now’s the time to enact Plan B and drop Plan A rather than acting to late

    David Cameron and George Osborne were forced to defend their fiscal deficit reduction plan after IMF chief Christine Lagarde says Britain may have to change tack if the economy struggles to recover.

    Christine Lagarde says ‘‘the policy stance remains appropriate, but the heightened risk means a heightened readiness to respond, particularly if it looks like the economy is headed for a prolonged period of weak growth and high unemployment’’.

    Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne George Osborne insisted there will be no change in their plans for cuts in public spending ‘‘Britain will stick to the deficit plan we have set out. It is the rock of stability upon which our recovery is built. It has delivered record low interest rates’’

    The USA’s Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has also question Britain's focus on deficit reduction and monetary, rather than fiscal, policy. In an article for the FT, Tim Geithner warns of ‘‘unwarranted disaffection with the efficacy of the traditional fiscal tools of tax cuts and investment to encourage growth’’ adding that governments with high deficits were right to cut but ‘‘can at least slow the pace of consolidation’’.

    David Cameron and George Osborne made clear that the coalition government is determination to stick to Britain's deficit reduction plan and flatly ruled out following President Barack Obama’s example of a boost to the USA’s economy by outlining a $450bn (£283bn) jobs plan to Congress on Thursday.

    IMF Chief Christine Lagarde praised the USA’s plan saying ‘‘We welcome the proposals announced by President Obama last night, which focus on supporting growth and job creation in the short term’’.

    Christine Lagarde qualify this by adding that ‘‘As the president also emphasised, it remains critical for the United States to clarify its medium-term plan to put public debt on a more sustainable path, and we look forward to the proposed consolidation plan to be announced in the coming days’’.

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  2. According to the latest figures there are now over 2.5 million out of work in Britain up 80,000 in the last three months with worst to come as a result of the Tory/Liberal coalitions spending cuts which haven’t taken effect as yet on public sector job losses. Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal-Democrat leader Nick Clegg has said the Tory/Liberal coalition government will stick to its planned cuts so no Plan B from the coalition government.

    There is a chronic lack of housing and a social housing investment programme would create jobs particularly skilled jobs for the ¾ of a million unemployed young people. Adam Posen on the Bank's policy-making committee has said that as well as another round of quantitative easing ‘‘printing money’’ the Bank of England there should be a more creative approach which takes into considerable public infrastructure investment and new money channelled into a housing programme.

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