Unfair and economically illiterate

Wednesday’s statement by Rishi Sunak, which includes the decision to freeze public sector pay outside the NHS and to cut the international aid budget by about £4billion, displays the nastiness and unintelligence of the Government. The people who have suffered the most in the Pandemic and the consequent lockdowns are the poorest; the poorest in Britain and the poorest in the world's developing economies.

So, in a cruel twist of the knife in the wound this Conservative government has heaped more pain on those who are in greatest need. Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised.

And both decisions are economically illiterate and betray a total ignorance of the UK’s enlightened self-interest.

No respected economist would refute Keynes’s behavioural analysis described in his Marginal Propensity to Consume (MPC) which basically shows that poorer people tend to spend far more of any extra income than do those who are wealthier. If you’re trying to get your economy out of a hole and get people spending then the last thing you want to do is to restrict the disposable income of the poorest. It would be interesting to compare the MPC of public sector workers with that of MPs who have just received a £3,000 pay increase.

The government has broken its own manifesto pledge by cutting international aid. That’s probably small beer compared to its recent breaking of international law, but just reinforces the suspicion that they can’t be trusted.

And again, it’s self-defeating. It will increase the desperation of the global poor and swell the numbers of those seeking salvation in developed countries. When there’s an increase in the number of stories about refugees reaching the UK - or dying in the attempt - then we should be prepared to point the finger at Rishi Sunak.

The Central and Outer Leeds Green Party condemns the government for its unfairness and ignorance, and calls for an economic policy which shows more compassion, more empathy and more understanding of economic basics.

Any questions and interviews please contact Colin Noble on colinnoble5@gmail.com or phone 07825340969

Central and Outer Leeds Green Party is the local Green Party in the parliamentary constituencies of Leeds Central, Leeds East, Leeds North East, Morley & Outwood and Pudsey, and the 20 council wards that make up these constituencies.