WE ARE led to believe Britain is beginning to boom again with wages up, jobs-a-plenty and inflation lower than a rattlesnake’s belly.
In fact, everything is tickety-boo.
So why have the Tories penned in an “emergency budget” on July 8?
There is no national emergency. Just a bullish urgency to reduce the deficit by stripping more money from the less well-off.
Welfare is top of the agenda, with at least £12 billion of cuts on the way.
We know welfare needs reforming, but the axe is swinging in the wrong direction: Disability Living Allowance, Child Benefit and Child Tax credits are benefits of necessity.
Another – the Working Tax Credit – was introduced in 2003 for people who work but have a low income. This is also a Tory target and could possibly be axed or subject to strict conditions.
Conditions such as regular interviews with job centre staff – that’s not only scary, it’s stuff of nightmares!
Diehard Tories say there are more jobs than ever before, but searching for more hours or a better paid job or asking your boss for a pay rise can only come from a party not on this planet.
Stephen Dixon, Redcar
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