Labour sets outs ‘emergency budget’ for public services
John McDonnell pledges to spend an extra £17bn a year on the NHS, social care, schools and local government
Labour’s shadow chancellor has called for an end to austerity and an “emergency budget for public services” in a speech laying out the party’s economic platform ahead of the Budget next week.
John McDonnell said Chancellor Philip Hammond was out of touch with the lives of ordinary people who are increasingly angry after seven years of cuts.
“They were told austerity was the solution to the economic crisis,” he said. “So it’s understandable that after seven years of the austerity solution, they are angry when they queue for hours at A&E, see their school laying off teaching assistants, their Surestart centre closing and the local neighbourhood police withdrawn from their streets.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Promising to spend an extra £17bn a year on the NHS, social care, schools and local government, McDonnell sought to paint the Tories as the party of tax avoidance by citing the recent Paradise Papers revelations.
He said extra spending under Labour would be paid for by tax rises for companies and “the rich”, which led to accusations Labour “would have to drive up Britain’s debts to balance the books”, says the London Evening Standard.
A week before the budget, McDonnell “wants to create a clear red line between him and the present incumbent of Number 11”, says the BBC’s Kamal Ahmed.
McDonnell has said he’s willing to borrow more to invest in infrastructure, arguing it’s a good time to do so as interest rates are at historic lows. The Conservatives claim more borrowing would lead to more debt, higher taxes and fewer jobs.
Austerity linked to 120,000 deaths
The shadow chancellor’s call for an end to public sector cuts carries added resonance after a study by UCL and Cambridge University academics linked austerity policies to more than 120,000 deaths over the past seven and half years.
Real-term funding for health and social care has fallen dramatically since David Cameron came to power in 2010. The researchers conclude this “may have produced” the substantial increase in deaths. They specifically highlighted the sharp increase in mortality after 2010, compared with the steady decline from 2001 to 2010.
The paper, published by BMJ Open, says there were 45,000 more deaths in the first four years after cuts began than would have been expected if funding had stayed at pre-2010 levels.
Based on those trends it predicted 152,141 extra deaths between 2015 and 2020 – 100 a day – which one of the authors likened to “economic murder”.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - November 2, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - anti-fascism, early voter turnout, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Geoff Capes obituary: shot-putter who became the World’s Strongest Man
In the Spotlight The 'mighty figure' was a two-time Commonwealth Champion and world-record holder
By The Week UK Published
-
Israel attacks Iran: a 'limited' retaliation
Talking Point Iran's humiliated leaders must decide how to respond to Netanyahu's measured strike
By The Week UK Published
-
What is the next Tory leader up against?
Today's Big Question Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick will have to unify warring factions and win back disillusioned voters – without alienating the centre ground
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is Lammy hoping to achieve in China?
Today's Big Question Foreign secretary heads to Beijing as Labour seeks cooperation on global challenges and courts opportunities for trade and investment
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Britain about to 'boil over'?
Today's Big Question A message shared across far-right groups listed more than 30 potential targets for violence in the UK today
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
UK's Starmer slams 'far-right thuggery' at riots
Speed Read The anti-immigrant violence was spurred by false rumors that the suspect in the Southport knife attack was an immigrant
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The Tamils stranded on 'secretive' British island in Indian Ocean
Under the Radar Migrants 'unlawfully detained' since 2021 shipwreck on UK-controlled Diego Garcia, site of important US military base
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Britain's Labour Party wins in a landslide
Speed Read The Conservatives were unseated after 14 years of rule
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Will voter apathy and low turnout blight the election?
Today's Big Question Belief that result is 'foregone conclusion', or that politicians can't be trusted, could exacerbate long-term turnout decline
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published