Agenda item

That this Council:-

(a)       notes that the latest estimates indicate that the British economy contracted by 0.5% in the second quarter of 2012 which means that the economy has been shrinking for three consecutive quarters in the country's second recession in four years;

(b)       further notes that construction fell by 3.9%, manufacturing output down 0.9% and the service sector shrank by 0.1%;

(c)        regrets that the UK is just one of two countries in the G20 in recession and believes that it is now beyond doubt that the Government’s economic plan has failed and has caused a double dip recession and the Government have completely failed to produce a credible plan for jobs and growth;

(d)       further regrets that at the current time there are still more than one million young people unemployed and believes that more action should be taken to tackle youth unemployment;

(e)       notes that as a result of the Government’s reckless economic mismanagement the deficit is up by more than a quarter compared to the same period last year with fewer people in work and fewer businesses succeeding, and the Government is having to borrow more not less as welfare bills rise and tax revenues fall;

(f)         regrets that because of the Government’s mismanagement of the economy, with slower growth and higher unemployment, spending reductions are now set to continue beyond the current Parliament;

(g)       believes that the Government should now change course and take action to secure growth and supports Labour’s five-point growth plan for jobs and growth which includes:

(i)         repeating the bank bonus tax and using the money to build 25,000 affordable homes and guarantee a job for 100,000 young people;

(ii)        bringing forward long term investment projects, such as schools, roads and transport, to create jobs;

(iii)       reversing the Government’s VAT rise now for a temporary period;

(iv)       an immediate one-year cut in VAT to 5% on home improvements, repairs and maintenance; and

(v)        a one-year national insurance tax break for every small firm which takes on extra workers;

(h)        further believes that these policies are better placed to grow the economy than recent suggestions by Conservative MPs Kwasi Kwarteng, Priti Patel, Dominic Raab, Chris Skidmore and Elizabeth Truss in their book “Britainia Unchained” who blame British workers for the poor state of the economy;

(i)         completely condemns these comments by Conservative MPs which include "The British are among the worst idlers in the world. We work among the lowest hours, we retire early and our productivity is poor.”;

(j)         believes that these comments are completely out of touch with reality and are an insult to millions of British people who work long hours for low pay; and

(k)        further believes that instead of mounting attacks on hard working British people these MPs would be better served calling on the Government, which has created a double dip recession and continues to hit hard working families through tax rises and spending cuts at the same time as they are cutting taxes for millionaires, to change course.

It was moved by Councillor Leigh Bramall, seconded by Councillor Steve Wilson, that this Council:

(a)       notes that the latest estimates indicate that the British economy contracted by 0.5% in the second quarter of 2012 which means that the economy has been shrinking for three consecutive quarters in the country’s second recession in four years;

(b)       further notes that construction fell by 3.9%, manufacturing output down 0.9% and the service sector shrank by 0.1%;

(c)        regrets that the UK is just one of two countries in the G20 in recession and believes that it is now beyond doubt that the Government’s economic plan has failed and has caused a double dip recession and the Government have completely failed to produce a credible plan for jobs and growth;

(d)       further regrets that at the current time there are still more than one million young people unemployed and believes that more action should be taken to tackle youth unemployment;

(e)       notes that as a result of the Government’s reckless economic mismanagement the deficit is up by more than a quarter compared to the same period last year with fewer people in work and fewer businesses succeeding, and the Government is having to borrow more not less as welfare bills rise and tax revenues fall;

(f)         regrets that because of the Government’s mismanagement of the economy, with slower growth and higher unemployment, spending reductions are now set to continue beyond the current Parliament;

(g)       believes that the Government should now change course and take action to secure growth and supports Labour’s five-point growth plan for jobs and growth which includes:

(i)         repeating the bank bonus tax and using the money to build 25,000 affordable homes and guarantee a job for 100,000 young people;

(ii)        bringing forward long term investment projects, such as schools, roads and transport, to create jobs;

(iii)       reversing the Government’s VAT rise now for a temporary period;

(iv)       an immediate one-year cut in VAT to 5% on home improvements, repairs and maintenance; and

(v)        a one-year national insurance tax break for every small firm which takes on extra workers;

(h)        further believes that these policies are better placed to grow the economy than recent suggestions by Conservative MPs Kwasi Kwarteng, Priti Patel, Dominic Raab, Chris Skidmore and Elizabeth Truss in their book “Britainia Unchained” who blame British workers for the poor state of the economy;

(i)         completely condemns these comments by Conservative MPs which include “The British are among the worst idlers in the world. We work among the lowest hours, we retire early and our productivity is poor.”;

(j)         believes that these comments are completely out of touch with reality and are an insult to millions of British people who work long hours for low pay; and

(k)        further believes that instead of mounting attacks on hard working British people these MPs would be better served calling on the Government, which has created a double dip recession and continues to hit hard working families through tax rises and spending cuts at the same time as they are cutting taxes for millionaires, to change course.

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Ian Auckland, seconded by Councillor Simon Clement Jones, 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 substitution of the following words therefor:-

(a)    recalls the light touch banking regulation masterminded by the Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown and Ed Balls, M.P.s, which brought the British economy to the edge of collapse in 2008;

(b)    furthermore, notes the previous Government’s record with public finances, increasing the national deficit year-on-year from 2001 onwards, reaching a total of £43bn prior to the economic crash;

(c)    notes the commitment of the last Government to halve the deficit by 2014, by pledging £82bn worth of cuts, compared to £81bn worth of cuts the Coalition plans to implement by 2015;

(d)    supports the decisive action taken by the Coalition Government, which has seen the deficit cut by a quarter since 2010, allowing the United Kingdom to avoid a loss of confidence experienced in Greece, Ireland and Italy;

(e)    however, recalls the scandal of youth unemployment under the last Government, with youth unemployment rising steadily from 2004 onwards, reaching almost half a million prior to the economic crash;

(f)      therefore, endorses the £1 billion Youth Contract announced by the Deputy Prime Minister, which will provide:

(i) 160,000 wage incentives for 18-24 year olds;

(ii) 250,000 additional work experience places for 18-24 year olds;

(iii) 20,000 incentive payments to encourage smaller businesses to recruit their first apprentices; and

(iv) a new programme of intensive support for 16 and 17-year olds who are not in employment, education or training;

(g)    in addition, welcomes the Sheffield City Region Deal, which has the potential to deliver 4,000 new apprenticeships, 2,000 employees with new training, and 12,000 new jobs at the City’s enterprise zone, which has been named the most attractive for businesses in the United Kingdom;

(h)    further, welcomes the hundreds of millions of pounds of investment in the region’s infrastructure, including the recent announcement of the electrification of the Midland Main Line, the start of the Streets Ahead project, and the financial backing for a Sheffield University Technical College;

(i)      furthermore commends the Government’s commitment to increase the income tax threshold to £10,000, cutting the tax bill of 24 million people and taking 2 million low paid workers out of income tax, compared to the last government, who scrapped the 10p tax rate, doubling the tax bill for some of the lowest paid in the country;

(j)       would like to see the Coalition go further to promoting a more Liberal economy and therefore supports proposals due to be discussed at the Liberal Democrat Conference including:

(i) developing a more sustainable banking industry;

(ii) rebalancing the economy from the City of London to Northern cities like Sheffield;

(iii)            increasing the powers of the Green Investment Bank;

(iv) increasing the numbers of mutuals, co-operatives and employee owned businesses;

ring fencing the Government’s science budget; and

(vi) measures to ensure the very wealthiest in our society pay their fair share; and

(k)        recognises that without market confidence, long term growth will not return to Britain and to facilitate this, the Government needs to balance the books.

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

After a right of reply from Councillor Leigh Bramall,the original Motion was then put to the vote and carried, as follows:-