As the new Prime Minister processes around the country like the emperor with no clothes, families are struggling, children are going hungry, people are sleeping on the streets and those with disabilities are treated with contempt. In one of the richest countries in the world.
‘This subject has been covered endlessly by GIMMS’ we hear you say and yes, that is true. But when the government fails to acknowledge the pain and suffering that has been caused by 9 years of cuts to public spending, then it behoves others to keep it in the public eye, to hold it to account and stand in solidarity by raising awareness of the plight of many UK citizens. In addition, people are entitled to know that there is an alternative to austerity and what that alternative is.
The government works tirelessly from its propaganda bunker, shamelessly wheeling out its spokesperson, to respond to media articles which reveal the tragic human stories behind their austerity policies. You only have to scroll down to the end of an article in the mainstream news to find an unbroken litany of spin, obfuscation and downright lies that contrast completely with the realities.
In fact, just a quick look through the papers this week reveal examples of the endlessly repeated narratives;
‘Tackling poverty will always be a priority for this government’…. We want to build on our progress to ensure every family can thrive….’
Behind these oft-repeated narratives lies a much more distressing picture; one of the human cost in suffering, rising poverty and inequality. Government-created destitution in some cases.
In recent weeks, GIMMS has referenced research from charities, other organisations and campaigners revealing some very awkward statistics for the government. Again, this week there is yet more bad news.
The Social Metrics Commission published a report which revealed that currently there are 14.3 million people living in poverty in the UK. The figures include 8.3 million working-age adults, 4.6 million children and 1.3 million pension-age adults. The figures also showed that nearly half of those living in poverty (totalling 6.8 million people) live in a family where someone is disabled. You can read the report here.
Also this week, the Disability News Service reported on the inquiry being held by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Health in all Policies which is being chaired by Debbie Abrahams; the secretariat for which is being provided by two of our own GIMMS advisors Deborah Harrington and Jessica Ormerod. The Committee is examining the impact of the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 on children and disabled adults.
Evidence was heard from experts, charities, think tanks and grassroots groups. David Taylor Robinson, a professor of Public Health and Policy at the University of Liverpool, noted that there had been very unusual rises in child mortality in the most deprived areas of the country and that families were ‘living in a state of profound anxiety about how to get by from one day to the next’. ‘He also said that: “Poverty is absolutely toxic for children’s life chances”.
The Disability News Service also quoted Dr Aaron Reeves, an associate professor in social policy and intervention at Oxford University, who indicated that there was ‘preliminary evidence’ that the benefits freeze was ‘contributing to food poverty’ and that cuts to social security were ‘a source of stress and anxiety’ which had grave implications for mental health. He also reported that the proportion of people who were finding it difficult to feed themselves and their families had risen dramatically but was concentrated amongst those who are disabled. You can read the article here.
While Brexit gets top billing in every news broadcast or newspaper headline, children are going hungry and getting sick.
As reported in last week’s MMT lens, community food banks are stepping up their efforts to provide meals for children during the school holidays. The 2017 APPG report on Hunger’s “Hungry Holidays” cited research that estimated that the loss of free school meals added between £30 and £40 per week to parents’ outgoings during school holidays. It also estimated that up to 3 million children were at risk of going hungry during school holidays.
Last year the Trussell Trust handed out 87,496 food parcels to families in the UK during the summer holidays – that was a 20% increase over the same period in 2017. These shameful figures come against a backdrop of spiralling food bank use in the UK in 2018/19. The Trussell Trusts own figures show that:
- Between 1st April 2018 and 31st March 2019, food banks in The Trussell Trust’s network provided 1,583,668 emergency supplies to people in crisis. 577,618 of these supplies went to children.
- This is an 18.8% increase on the previous year, when 1,332,952 emergency supplies went to people in crisis; 484,026 of these went to children.
The charitable organisations working on the ground see the consequences of government austerity on a daily basis. As the South London Mission director Janet Corlett said ‘“Destitution is creeping up on people. We’ve got kids with anxiety and mental health issues because their lives are insecure, and in the summer the pressures increase.”
Nye Jones at Novara Media also reported this week on the huge rises in the numbers of people homeless and sleeping on the streets in London.
The statistics show that these are at record levels, with 8000 sleeping outside between April 2018 and 2019. Across England, there has been an increase of 165% in those with no option but to sleep outside, while homeless deaths have more than doubled in the past five years.
As the author comments ‘So why do so many of us turn a blind eye to such blatant destitution? Why, in the sixth richest economy in the world, isn’t there uproar that some people are living under such obviously difficult and often fatal conditions?”
Why indeed?
A similar question might be asked about poverty and food bank use. It gives us all a nice warm feeling to think that people care enough to donate to food banks, and we are uplifted by notices in supermarkets about how much food they have contributed to feeding hungry people. Of course, one should not knock people’s generosity – that is an entirely good thing – and yet what we are seeing here is the normalisation of food banks as if they were a natural part of the scenery. In the same way, homeless charities seek to alleviate the hard lives of those who, for whatever reason, find themselves living under a railway arch with pieces of cardboard to keep warm as if there was nothing else to be done but depend on charitable giving.
As we put our donations in the box, do we stop to think about why this has happened? Are these really natural phenomena beyond our ability to address and find solutions for?
According to the government, the reasons why people use food banks are complex, as are the causes of homelessness, and have nothing to do with government policies. Such declarations ignore the consequences of government spending policies which have led to cuts in almost every area delivering public purpose, from the NHS and social care to education, welfare and other vital public services yet the government continues to deny any responsibility.
The social and economic inequalities that shape our environment didn’t just happen. People didn’t choose their poverty. The suggestion that it occurs because of people’s own inadequacy or inability to manage their lives is just another way for government to abdicate its responsibility for the well-being of its citizens and the health of the economy. The cost of this inequality is significant in terms of lives ruined and lives lost, as well as the considerable cost to the economy.
The imposition of austerity had nothing to do with economics. It was always about delivering the neoliberal ideology of a small state (whilst selling off our assets to the private sector to deliver services for profit with public money as the cash cow) and promoting the primacy of the individual and personal responsibility. It has, in fact, been the politics of abandonment.
However, politics is the art of the possible, particularly when it suits an agenda. On Thursday, it was announced by the newly appointed Chancellor Sajid Javid that he will be providing a ‘new’ immediate cash boost of £1.1bn and will make a further £1bn available if needed to manage Brexit.
In the same way, the new Chancellor could give a cash boost to public services, the NHS, education and welfare. If he chose to do so. It wouldn’t need the people’s tax or to commit to borrowing – the Treasury could simply instruct the Central Bank to make the necessary payments with the caveat that it has to have the available resources to do so or face inflationary pressures.
The message Labour should be conveying is not that it’s an ‘appalling waste of taxpayers cash’ which could have been spent on ‘our schools, hospitals and people’ but rather that the Conservatives have made political choice which is unrelated to the state of the public finances. The implication is that money is scarce, and that government has to make spending decisions based on a limited pot of public money, which is absolutely not the case. The question of either/or never comes into it.
The Conservatives are seen as the party of fiscal discipline and for the last 9 years they have stuck to the ‘two plus two equals four’ model of the economy. No doubt they will explain that they’ve done so well in controlling the public finances that they have got some fiscal slack and now have room to spend. The public needs to know that this is ‘room’ they’ve always had as the sovereign currency issuer and that there was never any need for spending cuts on public services. Unless, of course, you were making them for purely ideologically driven reasons.
If we have to repeat ourselves we don’t apologise. GIMMS’ objective is to make it clear that the Tories have put balanced budgets before the lives of people on the back of the lie about how our money system works. Our public infrastructure and our public assets, both local and national, are disappearing at an ever-faster rate and local government is struggling to deal with the fallout from cuts to government spending. Our public services and welfare system have been under ceaseless attack with devastating consequences. All for political reasons which have nothing to do with financial necessity. In the meantime, the rich have been garnering an ever-greater share of the wealth.
In 2016 it was suggested in an article on the IMF’s website that neoliberalism had been ‘oversold’ and that some neoliberal policies, instead of delivering growth, had increased inequality and jeopardised expansion. The proof lies before us and the consequences are clear for all to see, whether in the UK, Europe, the US or around the world. What is shocking is that after having promoted austerity politics in the ‘belief’ that a reduction in government spending would result in economic expansion, people and the economies of many countries have paid the painful price. And yet the IMF is still an organisation that defaults to the scarcity of money and the need for fiscal prudence arguments. The system is skewed towards the wealthy and the corporations both at global and national levels. It’s time for a change.
To return to the earlier discussion, GIMMS leaves the last few words to Emmie Reevie from the Trussell Trust who said last month:
‘If we are to end hunger in the UK, we need to make sure everyone is anchored from being swept into poverty. The Government needs to ensure benefit payments reflect the true cost of living and work is secure, paying the real Living Wage. Every family should have enough money coming in for a decent standard of living. No child should face going hungry in the UK.’
Armed with the knowledge that there is an alternative vision for the future which is facilitated by an understanding of how money works and how government programmes can be paid for, we can encourage those green shoots of change that are beginning to appear, to grow into something positive which will bring better times for all and ensure a healthy sustainable planet to boot.
Remember ‘the government is us’ and we can make a difference.
Note: Deborah Harrington and Jessica Ormerod, as well as providing the Secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Health in All Policies are also founders of the not-for-profit organisation Public Matters. If you’d like more information about what they do please follow the link here.
GIMMS is raising funds to cover the costs of the venue hire and associated expenses for a fringe event during the Labour Party Conference in September.
GIMMS is a non-profit organisation which relies exclusively on the donations of its friends and supporters for funding. The GIMMS team and the speakers will give their time voluntarily and without pay but we still need to cover the costs of events, travel, printing and other expenses associated with running the event.
If you are able to and would like to donate, please do so at our Crowdfunder page here.