Theresa May: 'Good' Brexit deal will mean end to austerity - Sky News
Theresa May scraps borrowing cap for councils to build new homes – Politics live | Politics | The Guardian
Some would say that's a bad thing:
Schools will finally get a bit more money. Nurses and policemen may at last get a proper pay rise. Local councils can stop scratching around to see if there are any services left they can still cut and the Chancellor may even be able to lighten up budget day with a minor tax cut or two. As Theresa May used her speech at the Conservative party conference to announce the ‘end of austerity’, departments all over Whitehall were no doubt busy thinking of new ways they could spend the money that is about to be released.
The politics of that decision might well be fine. A decade after the financial crash, and the huge deficits that came with it, the process of relentlessly cutting public spending has become exhausting. The economics are okay as well. The UK has bought public expenditure under control, and it poses no immediate threat to stability. But the strategy is terrible. In truth, the Conservative Party should always be in favour of ‘austerity’. Why? Because if it isn’t, then public spending will keep growing uncontrollably until it eventually suffocates the rest of the economy.
Austerity may no longer be an economic necessity, but it is still the only way to keep the size of the government under control. If the Conservative party relaxes on that, we will find state spending climbs up to 40 per cent or 50 per cent or more of the economy. France’s spending has climbed to an astonishing 56 per cent of GDP, a level at which it debatable whether it is still a free market economy. Pressing on with austerity is the only way to avoid that – which is why Theresa May has fatally mis-calculated in ending it.
The Tories are wrong to ditch austerity | Coffee House
Others would say that there is still 'rural austerity' to consider:
Rural communities are suffering austerity - Rural Services Network
An academic report from 2014 looked at the issues:
Heat or Eat: food and austerity | Communities and Culture Network +
And earlier this year, questions were being asked about the health of rural Somerset:
Crumbling Britain: how austerity is hollowing out the heart of Tory Somerset - New Statesman
And last week Plymouth Live reported on the view from Labour:
Plymouth MP makes comments about 'rural austerity' at Countryside Alliance event
Luke Pollard made the comments at a Countryside Alliance fringe event – Does Labour Speak for Rural Britain?
5COMMENTS
Keith Rossiter
26 SEP 2018
Rural communities are suffering from austerity just as much as city ones are, says Plymouth Labour MP Luke Pollard.
If we fall into the trap of thinking the Tories represent rural and Labour represents urban voters “we will be condemning rural communities to austerity for evermore”, he said.
Mr Pollard was speaking at a Countryside Alliance fringe event – Does Labour Speak for Rural Britain? – at his party’s annual conference in Liverpool.
“It’s tempting to think of built up urban areas when we think about areas worst hit by austerity, but rural communities have been hit just as hard – they’ve lost their pubs, their GP surgeries, their post office and local councils can’t afford basic services,” he said. “Austerity hurts rural areas harder in some cases because of geography and distance.
Luke Pollard MP
“Those people who claim to speak for the countryside need to focus on the real issues affecting rural life.
Mr Pollard, MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, is shadow Minister for Flooding and Coastal Communities.
He said: “While we all see lots of lobbying on headline issues like grouse shooting from countryside groups, we need to talk more about the fact that health services are being eroded in rural areas, social care is waning, wages are low, broadband is slow and housing is unaffordable. People in rural communities need their public services protected just as much, if not more so, than those in big cities.
“The distinction between rural and urban is a poor one and it doesn’t serve our politics well. Many of the issues that affect rural areas, affect urban areas and visa versa. It is impossible for young people to get on the housing ladder in many of our rural communities. These are the issues Labour is talking about and they’re rural issues just as much as they are urban. We can’t let a few campaigners on shooting drown out the other issues.
“Labour speaks for rural communities because a Labour Government would end the cruel Tory austerity that has caused genuine pain and misery to rural communities. Rural communities have been left behind and taken for granted by the Tories and that needs to change.”
“A Labour Government can only happen if it is built on every single part of the UK. If we fall into the trap of thinking the Tories represent rural and Labour represents urban we will be condemning rural communities to austerity forevermore and people in rural communities need their public services protected just as much, if not more so, than those in big cities.”
He said Labour has had the highest growth of new members in rural areas. “In the last election we replaced the Lib Dems as the second party in rural communities across the South West.”
Plymouth MP makes comments about 'rural austerity' at Countryside Alliance event - Plymouth Live
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“Those people who claim to speak for the countryside need to focus on the real issues affecting rural life.
Mr Pollard, MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, is shadow Minister for Flooding and Coastal Communities.
He said: “While we all see lots of lobbying on headline issues like grouse shooting from countryside groups, we need to talk more about the fact that health services are being eroded in rural areas, social care is waning, wages are low, broadband is slow and housing is unaffordable. People in rural communities need their public services protected just as much, if not more so, than those in big cities.
“The distinction between rural and urban is a poor one and it doesn’t serve our politics well. Many of the issues that affect rural areas, affect urban areas and visa versa. It is impossible for young people to get on the housing ladder in many of our rural communities. These are the issues Labour is talking about and they’re rural issues just as much as they are urban. We can’t let a few campaigners on shooting drown out the other issues.
“Labour speaks for rural communities because a Labour Government would end the cruel Tory austerity that has caused genuine pain and misery to rural communities. Rural communities have been left behind and taken for granted by the Tories and that needs to change.”
“A Labour Government can only happen if it is built on every single part of the UK. If we fall into the trap of thinking the Tories represent rural and Labour represents urban we will be condemning rural communities to austerity forevermore and people in rural communities need their public services protected just as much, if not more so, than those in big cities.”
He said Labour has had the highest growth of new members in rural areas. “In the last election we replaced the Lib Dems as the second party in rural communities across the South West.”
Plymouth MP makes comments about 'rural austerity' at Countryside Alliance event - Plymouth Live
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