Kwasi Kwarteng’s budget is a declaration of war on poor people

Kwasi Kwarteng


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On 6 September, Liz Truss assumed the office of prime minister after receiving support from 57.4% of Conservative Party members who voted in the leadership election. Those members consist of a mere 0.4% of the UK population.

Now, Truss’s laughing chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has unveiled a mini-budget which can only be described as an all-out declaration of war on workers, particularly the poor.

Meanwhile, the Bank of England has made it clear that the UK is now in recession.

Rich get richer

The winners from the Tory mini-budget are the well-off – those earning more than £150k a year. Indeed, it’s understood that someone earning more than £1m a year will be the beneficiary of tax cuts of more than £55k a year.

Moreover, the so-called tax cuts for the less well-off is an illusion, explains Howard Beckett of Unite the Union:

Other budgetary measures include removing the cap on how much bankers get in bonuses.

The Resolution Foundation posted a graph that demonstrates how the rich will disproportionately benefit from the budget:

“Brutal” measures

Kwarteng is also targeting Universal Credit recipients by threatening to pause or reduce their benefits.

Independent SAGE member and former WHO director Anthony Costello tweeted that these measures are “brutal”:

Meanwhile, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham called the measures in the budget “immoral”. He also posted a graph that sums up the impact Kwarteng’s mini-budget will have:

The energy bills rip-off

Then there’s the energy bill crisis, which will leave poor people that much more worse off. Beckett points out how these bills are “a complete rip off”:

As The Canary has previously pointed out, instead of a windfall tax on the energy companies, those companies will receive billions of pounds. And the cost will be met by tax payers.

Failing economy

In the wake of Kwarteng’s budget and the rise in the cost of borrowing, the pound tumbled against the US dollar to its lowest level since 1985. It will likely mean prices of imports will rocket, leading to higher prices generally, as well as higher inflation. And it’s predicted that interest rates could rise to 5% in 2023, affecting mortgages and consumer credit to add to the squeeze.

Regarding Truss’s economic strategy, this is supposedly based on the myth of trickle down economics. One Twitter user neatly summed this up:

As for exports, another Twitter user pointed out that Brexit is costing the UK £100bn a year in lost output, according to the Financial Times:

Also, the number of UK businesses exporting goods to the EU fell 33%, from 27,321 businesses in 2020 to 18,357 in 2021, according to data from HMRC.

Other anti-worker measures

Previously, The Canary warned of other measures planned for by Truss. For example, we published details of how Truss intends to destroy hard-won employment rights and environmental protections.

And earlier in 2022, Kwarteng changed the law to make strike-breaking legal:

Class war moves up a level

The Canary has been comprehensively covering the Tories’ class war in its many manifestations. Now, Kwarteng’s mini-budget takes that war to another level, so further widening the gap between rich and poor.

The Tories’ brutal measures will likely cause more people to become destitute, starve, or die. Moreover, inflation will ensure interest rates continue to rise, affecting those on mortgages or in debt. Overall, except for the very wealthy, these latest measures will negatively affect millions of people.

As for Truss, she is backed by the secretive European Research Group. This is the same group that’s responsible for the hard-line approach on Brexit which the Johnson government adopted. So expect more hard-line measures in the coming months.

It’s time we fought back, as Beckett says:

Just how much more can people take?

Featured image via YouTube

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  • Show Comments

    1. Just posted this today 26.9.2022
      on New Tory mess unfolding

      https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/
      LINK to post 26.9.2022

      Tory MPs call for East Lancs investment zone after mini-budget
      ///
      What rubbish from Tory M.P. of Lancashire area now coming from them to keep their jobs at next G.E. when the Tory Gvot plus it members in LONDON as failed all of Lancashire people/voters for the last 12+years of running our country unjustly.

      Tory M.P. of Lancashire do remember you voted yes to funding cuts to this area your voted yes to No help for our kids you all vote d to trash our N.H.S serves plus G.P. serves all did nothing to address our energy needs but didn’t forget your pay rise in April 2022 again you all failed our area of Lancashire all Tory M.P. + Tory Cllr alike.

      So, Tory M.P. of Lancashire get off your backsides (male-female alike) do something constructive like tell your new leader Truss She must put FRACKING to a public vote next G.E. I as a Lancashire voter have already emailed all Govt party leader including my Pendle-Colne Tory Cllr as well requesting this to be put to a public vote.
      Concluding
      Come next G.E. voter in Lancashire area will not forget this rich MINI Budget help for the RICH only that fund the Tory party while low paid workers plus benefit help for the poorer voters was still NOT delivered WHY? still get p***all help us voter of Lancashire.

      You will have to improve all you Tory M.P. +Tory Cllr of Lancashire areas if you wish to keep your JOBS next G.E. deliver Brexit benefits fully to us Brexit voters of Lancashire plus a good way of life for us all NOT just the rich again -& again that fund your party election in all Lancashire areas all resident + voter must come first now not your party.

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