Agenda item

Austerity Policies

It was moved by Councillor Brian Webster, seconded by Councillor Aodan Marken, that this Council:-

(a)       welcomes reports from the People’s Assembly Against Austerity that up to 250,000 people took part in the ‘End Austerity Now’ demonstration in London on 20^th June 2015, as well as other demonstrations in cities across the UK;

(b)       thanks all those who attended and helped to organise these demonstrations for their continuing commitment to fighting what this Council believes to be the Government’s divisive, destructive and ideologically driven austerity agenda;

(c)        notes that speakers at the London demonstration included representatives of many different organisations, including the Green Party and the Labour Party, and believes that this indicates the strength of opposition to austerity policies across much of the political spectrum in this country;

(d)       recalls that in Sheffield, public sector spending cuts have already resulted in a 50% cut to Sheffield City Council’s Revenue Support Grant between 2010 and 2015, and is deeply concerned at reports that further cuts to local government funding may be announced as part of the ‘Summer Budget’ on 8^th July 2015;

(e)       notes that austerity measures in Sheffield and across the country continue to hit the poorest and most vulnerable the hardest, and believes that this is deeply wrong;

(f)        therefore calls upon all political parties to support alternatives to the economics of austerity and spending cuts, including raising taxes on the wealthiest in society, cracking down on tax avoidance, and investing in infrastructure, home insulation, and renewable energy; and

(g)       directs that a copy of this motion be forwarded to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and to the leaders of all Parliamentary parties.

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Ben Curran, seconded by Councillor Ian Saunders, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the insertion in paragraph (f), between the words “spending cuts” and “including raising”, of the words “which will predominantly involve a long term sustainable growth strategy, based around successful businesses generating future prosperity and creating wealth,”.

On being put to the vote, the amendment was carried.

It was then moved by Councillor Steve Ayris, seconded by Councillor Richard Shaw, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the deletion of all the words after the words “That this Council” and the addition of the following words:-

(a)        notes that as a result of the previous Coalition Government’s policies, the wealthiest are paying more in tax, whilst lower earners are paying less, than at the start of the last Parliament, thanks to measures such as:-

(i)          cutting income tax by £825 for over 26 million low and middle income earners and removing over 3 million of the lowest earners from paying income tax altogether, by increasing the lower tax allowance;

(ii)         cutting tax breaks for the highest earners, meaning someone earning £1 million a year had to pay £381,000 more tax during the last Parliament than under the previous Labour Government; and

(iii)        tackling tax avoidance by a tenfold increase in prosecutions relating to tax crimes and closing 33 tax loopholes, resulting in an extra £9billion from the richest people in the UK being raised each year;

(b)        notes that the independent Office for National Statistics’ calculations of the Gini index shows that the UK, by the end of the Coalition Government’s term, was enjoying the lowest income inequality since 1986;

(c)         believes that the Green Party’s support for economic growth is lukewarm at best, but that a strong economy is a necessary prerequisite for opportunity for all and generates the revenues necessary for public services, and that, therefore, the consequences of Green Party policies would be economic failure and, as a consequence, much greater austerity; and

(d)        regrets the ideological austerity which this Council believes is being offered by the current Government, which is going beyond what is necessary to balance the books.

On being put to the vote, the amendment was negatived.

The original Motion, as amended, was put as a Substantive Motion in the following form and carried:-

RESOLVED: That this Council:-

(a)       welcomes reports from the People’s Assembly Against Austerity that up to 250,000 people took part in the ‘End Austerity Now’ demonstration in London on 20^th June 2015, as well as other demonstrations in cities across the UK;

(b)       thanks all those who attended and helped to organise these demonstrations for their continuing commitment to fighting what this Council believes to be the Government’s divisive, destructive and ideologically driven austerity agenda;

(c)        notes that speakers at the London demonstration included representatives of many different organisations, including the Green Party and the Labour Party, and believes that this indicates the strength of opposition to austerity policies across much of the political spectrum in this country;

(d)       recalls that in Sheffield, public sector spending cuts have already resulted in a 50% cut to Sheffield City Council’s Revenue Support Grant between 2010 and 2015, and is deeply concerned at reports that further cuts to local government funding may be announced as part of the ‘Summer Budget’ on 8^th July 2015;

(e)       notes that austerity measures in Sheffield and across the country continue to hit the poorest and most vulnerable the hardest, and believes that this is deeply wrong;

(f)        therefore calls upon all political parties to support alternatives to the economics of austerity and spending cuts, which will predominantly involve a long term sustainable growth strategy, based around successful businesses generating future prosperity and creating wealth, including raising taxes on the wealthiest in society, cracking down on tax avoidance, and investing in infrastructure, home insulation, and renewable energy; and

(g)       directs that a copy of this motion be forwarded to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and to the leaders of all Parliamentary parties.