Our friends at Derbyshore Unemployed Workers’ Centres have been running their own campaign – sending letters to the Chancellor pointing out the challenges facing people who are dependent on benefits. Here’s the press release they sent out:
Dear Chancellor, You Think You’ve Got Problems!
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is in a mess with the country’s finances but his problems are nothing to the weekly agony faced by people on low incomes. So says campaigners at the Derbyshire Unemployed Workers’ Centres who have took the unprecedented step of directing people struggling to make ends meet to contact the Chancellor for help sorting out their budgeting problems. George Osbourne, the new Chancellor is preparing his first budget to be delivered on Tuesday June 22nd.
Four people from North Derbyshire, a single parent, a low paid worker, a man on long term incapacity benefit, and another claiming Employment and Support Allowance have all laid bare their budget problems. All of them have expenditure exceeding their income. The four, Justine Bark and Anthony Lomas of Chesterfield, Richard Brown from Temple Normanton and Mary from Staveley have asked the Chancellor where they should make cuts.
‘Looking at our people’s outgoings and the difficult decisions to be made, the Chancellors budget deficit problems are a piece of cake’ said Colin Hampton, co-ordinator at the Derbyshire Unemployed Workers’ Centres, ‘The question they are asking the Chancellor is whether they should cut back on food, heat, light, clothing or household necessities. These people have nothing in their budgets for holidays, private pensions, savings for unforeseen problems and three have no home insurance. All they can cut back on is the basics of life.’
The Derbyshire Unemployed Workers’ Centres is highlighting the problems facing those living on benefits and workers on low hours/low pay minimum wage jobs.
‘If George Osborne says to our four people who have come forward that they should get a job, or more jobs in Mary’s case, we will remind him that you can’t set a budget on expectations of a rosy future. His advisors are telling him that unemployment is likely to rise in the next period so it makes sense for everyone to budget on the situation that confronts them.’ Colin Hampton went on to say.
Campaigners are asking the Chancellor to raise the basic minimum income and minimum wage so as to avoid making matters worse for those experiencing poverty in his budget next week.
‘People on low incomes did not cause the Government’s budget deficit. That was the outcome of the reckless activities of investment bankers and the lax regulation to control them,’ commented James Eaden President of Chesterfield TUC who are staging a rally at noon in New Square on the day of the budget. ‘Workers and those unable to find jobs should not have to pay for the banker’s bail-out. If the noises coming out of Downing Street are correct then it appears that we are going to have a battle on our hands. We cannot allow the Government to pass on the debts of the rich on to ordinary people struggling to make ends meet.’
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