Welfare Spending: Some Facts

The chart below is taken from the excellent UK Public Spending website.

It shows welfare spending as a percentage of GDP since 1950. The welfare spending that George Osborne is about to slash, that Labour ran up in order to build a “client state” and which “we can no longer afford”.

In 1997 welfare spending as percentage of GDP was 7.76% , in 2010 (despite a recession and higher unemployment) it is 7.26% – lower than in any year 1979 to 1997.

This is being cut, as Douglas Alexander argues, for political reasons. As Don Paskini notes, it will hit the low paid hard.

Stop the sale of the Royal Mail

The UK government is to begin the process of privatising Royal Mail, raising the prospect that the "one price goes anywhere" universal postal service could be scaled back.

The business secretary, Vince Cable, has revealed plans for a bill to enable the sell-off of Royal Mail, which will include offering shares to employees. He appeared to confirm that there could be a total privatisation – going further previous Liberal Democrat and coalition promises.

A YouGov poll last month found a majority of voters of every party oppose privatising Royal Mail with support at only 15 per cent.

Deliveries could be cut back to five times per week. Under existing legislation, Royal Mail is required to provide six deliveries per week of letters at an "affordable and uniform" price to anywhere in the UK.

The ConDem coalition belives that Royal Mail will not be able to afford to carry out this service even though overall its letters business doubled operating profits last year and there is already a fully funded modernisation programme agreed by both management and unions is in place bringing stability to the company.

The Communication Workers’ Union (CWU), who reprsent thoudands of postmen and women, voiced fears that the Government was plotting to "seize" pension assets it said were worth £26 billion.

CWU general secretary Billy Hayes said: "Privatisation is old politics. It's the failed politics of history which brought disruption to Britain's utilities and railways and astronomical prices for consumers. Dangerously in this case, we fear the Government may also be plotting to seize the pension assets.

"Privatisation would be devastating for Royal Mail and the whole country's postal services. The universal service has been a key part of the UK post for 170 years but because it isn't the profitable element of mail, the privatisation will put it at risk.

"This could damage the service for all customers, including millions of small business and potentially harm the UK economy. Privatisation will also mean separation of Royal Mail and the post office network, putting the very existence of many more post offices that play such a key role in Britain's communities at risk.

"Royal Mail has always been a privatisation too far and there is a public majority out there who will vote this Government out for flogging off our national assets and breaking our public services."

Dave Ward, CWU deputy general secretary, said: “Everyone’s a loser if you privatise the Royal Mail. Jobs and services will suffer and customers will see prices soar.

“We’ve put in place a detailed and fully funded modernisation programme which is dramatically transforming Royal Mail. Why does the government want to threaten the stability and capital of this programme when it’s proving a major success?." 

Hundreds march through Cardiff in protest at spending cuts

Around 300 protesters from across Wales marched through the city centre this weekend in opposition to the cuts proposed by the UK government.

The public sector employs around a quarter of the workforce in Wales and the Welsh Assembly Government has said the Spending Review meant it would lose £1.8bn from its budget over the next four years.

The march, which started at City Hall and ended with a rally at Sophia Gardens, was held by trade unions who believe that the proposed cuts to public services will cause widespread jobs losses in Wales.

The march started at 1pm and the procession was led with a banner supporting the Newport passport office, which faces closure and the loss of 300 jobs following an announcement from the Home Office last week.

The event was organised by members of a number of unions. Speakers included representatives from the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, the Nasuwt teachers’ union and the branch secretary at the Swansea Remploy section of the GMB union.

A number of local Labour members joined the march along with the Plasnewedd Branch Labour Party banner.  

Welsh Assembly Government response to ConDem spending review

Today’s announcement is a hammer blow for the people of Wales, the worst since devolution and the lowest settlement of all the Devolved Nations.

Our Budget next year will be almost £900m less than this year and comes on top of the savage Budget in June, representing the deepest public spending cuts since World War 2.

The Welsh Cabinet is meeting early tomorrow morning to discuss the impact of the settlement. The Assembly Government has always said that it will play its role in reducing the UK budget deficit.  But the cuts announced today are too fast and too deep.  They will endanger the fragile economic recovery and threaten devastating and long-term consequences for the most vulnerable people in our society. They will undoubtedly hit Wales harder than other parts of the UK because we are already underfunded, as recently demonstrated by the independent Holtham Commission.

The reductions for the Assembly Government’s Budget fully vindicate the prudent approach to planning assumptions we have adopted since the Spring. Although the cuts are towards the lower end of the possible outcomes for revenue expenditure, the capital cuts are as grim as predicted. Cabinet now has the opportunity to consider the implications for our Budget, which will be laid on 17 November.

These cuts come with no clarity over the decision to proceed with the electrification of the Swansea to London railway, the proposed closure of the passport office in Newport and the unprecedented £18bn cuts in welfare payments that will affect the most vulnerable people in our society.

Against this background, the Labour-led Welsh Assembly Government will continue to take a distinctive Welsh approach to safeguard essential services in Wales. We have a duty to promote fairness and equality in the way we allocate resources which will be best for the economy, as well as the social fabric of Wales. That is why we are committed to protecting investment in schools, skills and healthcare, and committed to maintaining universal entitlements – including the successful concessionary fares scheme, free prescriptions, free swimming and free breakfasts and milk for primary school children.

ConDem coalition urged to scale back savage spending cuts

The Labour-led Welsh Assembly Government has joined with the other two devolved governments to urge the ConDem UK Government to scale back its plans for savage spending cuts in the Comprehensive Spending Review on 20 October.

The joint declaration has been signed by First Ministers for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as well as Deputy First Ministers and was sent to the Chancellor earlier today.

Welsh Labour’s First Minister, Carwyn Jones said: “We have taken this unprecedented step because we believe the scale and speed of cuts we have been led to expect will have devastating consequences for the most vulnerable people in our devolved nations and the impact will be felt for generations to come.  Our Joint Declaration shows the strength of feeling within the devolved Governments which represent nearly 10 million people or one sixth of the UK’s population.”

Smart card launched in Cardiff

 A new travel card was launched today which is set to transform public transport in Wales’ capital. 

The Iff Card - launched by Cardiff Bus – utilises new technology and aims to encourage bus use around the city centre by making travel easier. 

The card is linked to the Sustainable Travel City scheme, which is funded by the Labour-led Welsh Assembly Government, and aims to help the Welsh capital to become a Sustainable Travel City by encouraging bus use around the city centre.

Iff – which is a smart card similar to those in use by travel companies nationwide – will be unique to each user.  It can be pre-loaded with credit, signalling an end to paying by change for each journey and can also be used as a season ticket.  It also allows customers to stop their card and retrieve their current balance if they lose it

In launching the new card, Cardiff Bus will be the first UK bus company to allow users of its Iff Card to go up to £3 into debit – the equivalent of two single journeys in the capital.  Cardiff Bus is also planning to extend its communication with customers – as championed through its use of Twitter and Facebook – by sending service updates to passengers via text or email during spells of traffic congestion or bad weather.

Cardiff protesters call on Nick Clegg to rethink public sector cuts

The Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg, visited Cardiff yesterday, meeting First Minster Carwyn Jones and later attending a question and answerer session with students held at City Hall.

He was greeted by protesters angry at the coalitions governments savage and disastrous spending cuts. 

 Many local activists joined the demonstration. Jenny Rathbone, a spokesperson for Cardiff Central Labour Party, said:

"We want to make it clear people are unhappy about the cuts. What people don't realise what's about to happen – they think the cuts won't affect them. It could be more than 25% cut to the local government and those are the services which will seriously impact on the vulnerable – who had nothing to do with the bankers' bonanza."

"It's really important that Nick Clegg living in his bubble in Downing Street has some idea of what concerns that are out there.

            "We have never seen cuts on this scale to the welfare state."