Rishi Sunak considers benefits freeze and public sector pay freeze to pay for Covid crisis.

[HeIenaDove]

www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/rishi-sunak-considers-freezing-benefits-22712652?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar

Rishi Sunak has looked at a freeze on benefits and public sector pay to fight the spiralling cost of the coronavirus crisis, it is reported today.

Sources failed to rule out the crushing blow to millions of workers and the poorest - just a few years after long austerity freezes finally ended.

The Chancellor is also said to be trying to persuade Boris Johnson to suspend the "triple lock" on pensions, reports the Mail on Sunday - amid fears it will artificially rise due to the economic turmoil.

A Treasury source downplayed the reports, emphasising that the government previously said there would be no return to austerity.

However, the department failed to rule out the claims, saying it would not comment on future tax or spending decisions

@Ecosse

What did people think was going to happen? Lockdown absolutely decimated the economy which obviously results in unemployment and lower tax take. All at the time the government faces unprecedented costs for healthcare.

This is why we simply cannot afford another lockdown if we actually want to have public services in future.

This this and this.

How’s this a shock? You can’t close the country down and expect the economy to still flourish.... the government needs to make the money up somehow!

Don’t panic yet. It’s a news story from one paper, and not a good one, wait to see what Sunak actually proposes. This is click bait and it’s working.

Easier said than done! Going by their past actions this would hardly be a surprise!

Do you think anyone in their right mind ever, apart from the public school set, will ever vote Tory again? They are a disgrace

Numerous threads here, polls and other sm show that they still have far too much support!

Where are you getting the impression they don't?

A few Tory voters are wavering but there's not been a huge shift away from them

Sadly I think once Murdoch has tied this all around Boris Johnson and threw him over board, started to sell the idea it wasn't the tories that got it wrong it was just boris Johnson that was incompetent, yes, I sadly think people will suck it up and vote for them again.

Yep!

I even think it's possible sunak will escape censure and even get massive praise for not doing worse!

So making sure that no-one has any money to spend to restart the economy is the way forward then? have ya missed the last 10 years?!

This is what they've been doing throughout under false claims it's better for the economy!

The ban on evictions has been extended @HeIenaDove

Btw - welcome back! 

@SheepandCow previous Tory govts understood that about destitution = rise in crime etc this shower are fucking clueless!!

Yes indeed. As those economic experts, the Bank of England, warned. You can't close down the economy long-term (by allowing Covid to run unchecked through the population) without great economic damage.

Short-term economic disruption - a proper lockdown to halt and contain the spread - is far less economically destructive. It's a terrible shame there wasn't enough foresight months ago. Still, we can't go back. All we can do is take action, so that in a few months time we can do what we could've been doing now - starting our economic recovery.

@SheepandCow
There's only so far you can rise taxes without reducing the overall tax take and I suspect in many cases the current levels of taxation aren't far off that point (and taxes certainly couldn't rise to the levels needed to pay for the damage lock down caused).
It's also not anywhere near as simple as saying everyone on a pension, benefits or working in the public sector are near desolate while everyone in the private sector is swimming in money so there is certainly room for some level of freezes to certain benefits and public sector pay (and plenty of room for cuts in the state pension).

@PinkMacaron

I'm unclear how the lockdown fans thought this was going to be paid for. It's going to be pay cuts, tax hikes, benefit freezes and slashed public services all the way. Austerity with knobs on.

This! But they're still baying for more lockdown and more punitive measures.

There are pensioners on less than £80 a week. There was a article in Woman and Home about it. Which led me to this.................

www.lcp.uk.com/is-your-state-pension-being-underpaid/

If they freeze Carer's Allowance again, I'll go back to work and the state can bloody well provide care for my mother. I have had enough of just about everything now.

Perhaps we could tax the Deniers at a higher rate? The stubborn refusal to accept the economic damage caused by an unchecked virus running through society has cost us dearly.

DH took a 15% pay cut as did all senior management to try and stop redundancies of any staff. So far there have been no redundancies.

Pension Credit for a single pensioner brings income up to £173.75 a week and there are a lot of people who are eligible to claim. Not sure that there is plenty of scope to cut the State pension on that basis.

Public sector workers are extremely fortunate to have secure jobs and pensions with only a pay freeze to come. They are in an enviable position.

There will be mass redundancies and pay cuts across many different industries in the private sector. My own company in the travel industry has imposed 20% pay cuts for all employees throughout the winter season.

Lockdown has been economically bad, but Brexit is also terrible for the economy. It was already going to be difficult. The Mirror isn't a hugely reliable source, but if they're right I think that will be an issue.

Personally, I don't think benefits should be frozen. There have been ongoing problems with UC since it began and the people struggling most should not be paying. That's possibly going to be an unpopular opinion on here, but I'm saying it anyway. There are other places we can take money from, including (among many other combined things) raising taxes on the richest. Unfortunately, this approach is not unexpected because it's a Tory government, but that doesn't mean (imo) it should be met with acceptance. When parts of society are pushed further and further into poverty, there tends to be unrest. With Brexit coming (and more economic strain) alongside the stress of Covid-19, this would not be a good time to freeze benefits. It's already likely there'll be unrest over that time and to do so will increase the likelihood. It will be impacting the most vulnerable in our society, including children living in poverty, victims of domestic abuse who've managed to leave the abusive relationship, those with serious disabilities and the elderly. Not to forget that those in the BAME communities are twice as likely to be living in poverty here in the UK (figure from July 2020) and have been disproportionately affected by Covid-19. It should never be the most vulnerable who are made to take the brunt of recession and with the need in benefits likely to rise due to job loss around Covid-19, it's a really awful idea. As I say, not unexpected, but still awful.

Carers allowance is £67 a week.

@MillieEpple

Carers allowance is £67 a week.

Carer's Allowance is a bloody pathetic 'fuck you' to carers.

Good old Tory 'divide and conquer' technique. So, those in the public sector should just be grateful they have jobs. Expecting a wage that reflects the work involved is a 'luxury'.

I am a public sector employee, but I am much more concerned by the benefits freeze. Everything I have read says that food prices will rise after Brexit. Food is a disproportionately large expense for people on benefits. They need to be raised in line with food prices or families will go hungry.

In addition, lockdown or no lockdown, there will be huge amounts of job losses this winter and the government should be making sure that applicants avoid the usual delays in gaining their benefits.

I bet it will not include MPs .... (we are not all in it together)

If he removes the triple lock on pensions the so called 'baby boomers 'won't be impressed at all. The ' waspi' women lost their case about the rise in the retirement age as well last week. I did see this story in the mail as well this morning as well as the mirror link. I saw a few comments about it online and it wasn't nice.
It's a tough call as the debts are rising and they are reluctant to tax the big corporations more , so the chancellor is going to have to go after someone I suppose.
It's just that nobody thinks it should be them.

Not news at all. Public sector jobs haven't had pay rises and I'm on my 4th round of 'restructures' (redundancy) in the last 2 years. My team was around 100, now 14 of us.

My LA has had to reduce costs over the last couple of years, was trying to balance the books but with COVID has spent much more than the emergency funding that central government will give back.

Public sector jobs go, services stop.

If he removes the triple lock on pensions the so called 'baby boomers 'won't be impressed at all.

I’m not sure that’s the point. Given that these extraordinarily expensive measures are being taken to protect this generation, I don’t think it’s unreasonable that they shoulder some of the cost for it.

Rather than kick the can down the road by borrowing more and more and more, leaving an already economically disadvantaged younger generation to pick up the tab.

GDP is forecast to be just 7% down on Feb 2019.... so hardly "Decimated"
In june it was 17% down from the pre CV level and has grown considerably since then.

Regardless of the provenance of the story, since when has a Tory Govt opened the spending taps?
Its always been cut cut cut, so expect pay freezes and benefit cuts regardless of CV.
The Tories want a smaller state and we all vote for it, our finances good or bad doesn't change that.

So much for "Clap for Carers" unless Johnson meant an STI ?

Someone has to pay for the free stamp duty up to £500,000 for wealthy people to buy an holiday home or landlords to buy more BTL's. It's pushed property prices up so people need longer mortgage terms to spread the cost. They will be glad when the pension age is put up to 75, it will give them more time to pay the larger debt!

Boris was going to spend more , then Covid hit. I'm not a fan of his , but they did say it was the end of austerity back in January. If they would have stuck to this pledge I've no idea , but obviously the economy isn't what it was back then.
More cuts is a blow but all this money will have to paid back somehow.
It is grim.

How many billions is HS2 costing? When we are all working from home more.

The stamp duty cuts have only helped his rich friends and house prices have gone up around here. It seemed a nice thing to do at the time , but I've seen through it since!