Mick Whitley, Labour MP for Birkenhead, is supporting our Open Letter for resolving the local government and housing crises. Here are extracts from his speech to Parliament in response to the budget.
“The British public understand what this government does not, that you cannot cut your way to growth. They remember how the Tories ideologically driven programme of austerity derailed the tentative but promising economic recovery secured by the last Labour government, in the wake of the financial crisis; dragging down economic growth, year on year, and led to the worst decade for economic growth since the industrial revolution.
They recognise that far from austerity 2.0, what Britain needs now is to invest in its crumbling infrastruture and overstretched and under-funded public services.
I also fear that I must issue a warning to my friends on the opposition front benches. The Shadow Cahncellor has been very clear about the dire economic situation that a Labour government will inherit if it wins the next General Election. That is an indisputable fact. But the language we have heard from the Shadow Chancellor and Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury over recent days, that “we have maxed out the credit card” and that “there is no magc money tree”, ring hollow to many of my constituents who have seen the profits of the super rich and big corporations soar over the pandemic and cost of living crisis, at the expense of their own standards of living.
They remain unconvinced that public service reform alone is enough to deliver the quality of public service that they deserve. Despite outward appearance Britain remains a remains a wealthy country but that wealth is more unequally distributed than ever. And I fear that unless my Party is prepared to revisit its opposition to a wealth tax, and commit itself to genuinely progressive tax reform then Labour will never be able to accomplish any of what it sets out to do or what millions of hopeful voters believe it must do.”
You can read the full speech here.
Labour Campaign for Council Housing 