'Tories have run the UK into the ground and working people have paid the price'

06 March 2024 , 17:46

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TUC general secretary Paul Nowak has warned more austerity is 'baked in' (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

A deeply cynical Budget from a zombie Chancellor. At a time when our schools, hospitals and councils are on their knees, we needed a serious plan to rebuild Britain.

But all we got from Jeremy Hunt was wishful thinking and pre-election gimmicks. This was a Budget heavy on spin with the bad news buried in the small print.

But as the government’s own watchdog makes clear - more austerity is baked in and household debt is set to increase by £1,600 this year. The Chancellor and his cabinet of multi-millionaires won’t have to live with the consequences – but the rest of us will.

This was the last roll of the dice from a desperate government that has presided over 14 years of economic failure on growth, living standards and public services. The Tories’ record speaks for itself. The worst economic growth since the Great Depression.

The worst squeeze on real wages in modern history – with pay packets still worth less today than in 2008. Record NHS waiting lists and crumbling classrooms. Soaring child poverty and epidemic levels of insecure work.

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The charge sheet goes on and on. Everywhere you look the country is in crisis. The statement by Jeremy Hunt shows why we urgently need political change. The Tories have run the UK into the ground – and working people have paid the price for it.

This is a dying government scrambling to cling on to power. They don’t deserve any second chances. The sooner they are booted out of office the better.

Paul Nowak