Wednesday, September 25, 2024

UK

How can they cut the winter fuel allowance for pensioners & leave the super-rich untouched? Sharon Graham

“We are the sixth richest economy in the world. We have the money. Britain needs investment, not austerity mark two.”

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham today moved the motion on winter fuel allowance at Labour party conference. The full text and video of the speech is below:

The nation wants food, work and homes… It wants a high and rising standard of living, security for all, against a rainy day

Friends, that’s a quote from the 1945 Labour Manifesto, written in the shadow of death, destruction and debt, caused by years of war.

A manifesto of hope – Written at a time when our debt to GDP was 270 per cent. Nearly three times higher than it is now. Yet, no mention of cuts, no mention of austerity and certainly no mention of making everyday people pay.

Labour then knew, that to make Britain more equal, they had to think and act differently. They knew to make it count. To make a real difference, Labour could not simply be better managers, they had to make lasting change.

They promised: jobs, homes and education. And built a national health service on the back of crisis.

Their story wasn’t one of tightening belts or making some of the poorest in our society pay.

Friends, people simply do not understand, I do not understand, how our new Labour government can cut the winter fuel allowance for pensioners and leave the super-rich untouched.

This is not what people voted for. It is the wrong decision and needs to be reversed.

Friends, we are the sixth richest economy in the world. We have the money. Britain needs investment, not austerity mark two. We won’t get any gold badge for shaving peanuts off our debt.

These fiscal rules are self-imposed and the decision to keep them is hanging like a noose around our necks.

Friends, our public services and British industry need investment now. It’s no good having sympathy for workers at Grangemouth losing their jobs. They don’t need pity. They need Labour to step up to the plate and not allow a billionaire, who buys a football club as a hobby, to throw these workers on the scrap heap.

We cannot leave Britain at the whim of footloose corporations – Hoping for them to invest is a prayer not a plan.

Yes, Britain is broken. Yes, the Tories have left a mess and yes, they are to blame. But Labour is now in Government, and we can’t keep making everyday people pay.

Friends, I keep hearing, ‘a wealth tax is too difficult, [it] would take too long’. I say absolute rubbish. We seem to be able to get workers paying their taxes in a matter of weeks!

The system is rigged and the country knows it.

Friends, let’s hold up our heads and be proud to be Labour. Let everyday people know – we are on their side. Let’s put our arms around the working class and make lasting change.

Solidarity, I move.”


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