Agenda item

Cost of Living

It was moved by Councillor Ben Curran, seconded by Councillor Adam Hurst, that this Council:-

(a)       believes that the recent budget proves that Sheffield people are worse off under the current government who are taking no action to deal with the cost-of-living crisis;

(b)       regrets that wages are down £1,600 a year since Nick Clegg MP became Deputy Prime Minister;

(c)        notes that the Office of Budget Responsibility have confirmed that people will be worse off in 2015 than they were in 2010 and energy bills are up by almost £300 since Nick Clegg MP became Deputy Prime Minister;

(d)       regrets the Government of which Nick Clegg MP is Deputy Prime Minister has overseen the slowest recovery for 100 years and acknowledges that Italy is the only G7 country to recover at a slower rate than the UK;

(e)       regrets that George Osborne MP has borrowed more since becoming Chancellor than Labour did in 13 years of Government

(f)        is alarmed that that the Government has forecast to borrow over £190 billion more than it initially planned;

(g)       completely condemns the decision taken by the Government, including the Deputy Prime Minister, to cut the top rate of tax for people earning over £150,000;

(h)       believes Sheffield needs a Labour Government which will:

(i)         freeze energy bills until 2017 and reform the broken energy market;

(ii)        put young people back to work, with a job the young unemployed have to take – paid for by a tax on bank bonuses;

(iii)       expand free childcare for working parents to 25 hours a week for 3 and 4 year olds;

(iv)       cut taxes for 24 million working people on middle and low incomes with a lower 10p starting rate of income tax;

(v)        cut business rates for small firms and a plan to get 200,000 homes built a year by 2020; and

(vi)       balance the books in a fairer way by reversing the £3 billion tax cut for people earning over £150,000;

(i)         specifically supports the policy of taxing bank bonuses to put young people back to work;

(j)         is appalled at the recent Conservative Party poster from the budget which states that “Cutting the Bingo Tax & Beer Duty: To help Hardworking People Do More Of The Things They Enjoy” and believes that this is just the latest example of how out of touch this Government is; and

(k)        believes this is reminiscent of reported comments by a Government minister three years ago that ‘‘We don’t want more people from Sheffield flying away on cheap holidays.”, and believes it is unbelievable that these ministers are only able to continue in Government because of the support of Nick Clegg MP.

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Roger Davison, seconded by Councillor Penny Baker, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended bythe deletion of all the words after the words “That this Council” and the substitution of the following words therefor:-

(a)       recalls the record of the last Government who built up a record deficit year-on-year from 2001 onwards and oversaw the biggest collapse in this country’s economy in recent memory;

(b)       notes that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) now expects the UK economy to grow faster than any other G7 economy in the first six months of this year and believes that Liberal Democrats in Government have been crucial in securing this economic recovery;

(c)        furthermore notes figures from the Office of National Statistics that demonstrate that the number of people claiming jobseekers allowance has fallen for the fifteenth consecutive month;

(d)       asks Members to consider the following facts:

(i)         Employment – May 2010: 28.93 million; Now: 30.15 million; Result: 1.22 million more people in work;

(ii)        Unemployment – May 2010: 7.9%; Now: 7.2%; Result: 0.7% reduction in unemployment; and

(iii)       Inflation – May 2010: 3.4%; Now: 1.7%; Result: Inflation halved;

(e)       contrasts the wild predictions of Labour politicians with the economic reality of the country;

(i)         STATEMENT – The Rt. Hon. Ed Miliband MP: [The Government] have a programme which will lead to the disappearance of a million jobs; REALITY – More than one million more people in work than 2010;

(ii)        STATEMENT – The Rt. Hon. Ed Balls MP: [The Government] have turned Britain’s recovery into … a deep and deepening recession; REALITY – OECD expects the UK economy to grow faster than any other G7 economy in the first six months of this year; and

(iii)       STATEMENT – Councillor Julie Dore:  [Government policies] will contribute to the break-up of civil society if we do not turn back; REALITY – State of Sheffield Report 2013 claims “It is widely argued that the look and feel of the city, and its quality of life and place has never been stronger for many people”;

(f)        recognises that as a result of the massive economic crash this country faced, many families have seen their household budgets stretched and continue to struggle to make ends meet;

(g)       therefore welcomes the action of this Government and believes Liberal Democrats in Government have been vital in securing policies to support local people with the cost of living, including:

(i)         giving 24 million ordinary workers an £800 tax cut;

(ii)        increasing the state pension by £650 thanks to the ‘triple lock’;

(iii)       supporting Council Tax freezes, saving the average Sheffield household £185 this year;

(iv)       delivering an average saving of £50 on household energy bills;

(v)        freezing fuel duty, saving motorists £170 per year;

(vi)       introducing 15 hours free childcare for disadvantaged two-year-olds; and

(vii)      delivering free school meals for all infant pupils from this September;

(h)       contrasts this action with the appalling record of the last Government, who:

(i)         scrapped the 10p tax, leaving half a million of the lowest paid workers worse off; and

(ii)        increased the state pension by an insulting 75p;

(i)         notes that British workers – excluding the richest 10% – saw their take-home pay rise in real terms in the past year;

(j)         furthermore welcomes news that inflation has fallen again to 1.7%, the lowest level for four years, and confirms that this could not have been achieved without tough action on the massive deficit that the last Government left behind; and

(k)        notes that the national Labour Party has changed its policy on bankers’ bonuses on a staggering eleven occasions since 2011 and believes this confirms their complete ineptitude.

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

The original Motion was then put to the vote and carried, as follows:-

RESOLVED:  That this Council:-

(a)       believes that the recent budget proves that Sheffield people are worse off under the current government who are taking no action to deal with the cost-of-living crisis;

(b)       regrets that wages are down £1,600 a year since Nick Clegg MP became Deputy Prime Minister;

(c)        notes that the Office of Budget Responsibility have confirmed that people will be worse off in 2015 than they were in 2010 and energy bills are up by almost £300 since Nick Clegg MP became Deputy Prime Minister;

(d)       regrets the Government of which Nick Clegg MP is Deputy Prime Minister has overseen the slowest recovery for 100 years and acknowledges that Italy is the only G7 country to recover at a slower rate than the UK;

(e)       regrets that George Osborne MP has borrowed more since becoming Chancellor than Labour did in 13 years of Government

(f)        is alarmed that that the Government has forecast to borrow over £190 billion more than it initially planned;

(g)       completely condemns the decision taken by the Government, including the Deputy Prime Minister, to cut the top rate of tax for people earning over £150,000;

(h)       believes Sheffield needs a Labour Government which will:

(i)         freeze energy bills until 2017 and reform the broken energy market;

(ii)        put young people back to work, with a job the young unemployed have to take – paid for by a tax on bank bonuses;

(iii)       expand free childcare for working parents to 25 hours a week for 3 and 4 year olds;

(iv)       cut taxes for 24 million working people on middle and low incomes with a lower 10p starting rate of income tax;

(v)        cut business rates for small firms and a plan to get 200,000 homes built a year by 2020; and

(vi)       balance the books in a fairer way by reversing the £3 billion tax cut for people earning over £150,000;

(i)         specifically supports the policy of taxing bank bonuses to put young people back to work;

(j)         is appalled at the recent Conservative Party poster from the budget which states that “Cutting the Bingo Tax & Beer Duty: To help Hardworking People Do More Of The Things They Enjoy” and believes that this is just the latest example of how out of touch this Government is; and

(k)        believes this is reminiscent of reported comments by a Government minister three years ago that ‘‘We don’t want more people from Sheffield flying away on cheap holidays.”, and believes it is unbelievable that these ministers are only able to continue in Government because of the support of Nick Clegg MP.

(Note: Councillors Jillian Creasy and Robert Murphy voted for Paragraph (g) and abstained on Paragraphs (a) to (f) and (h) to (k) of the Motion and asked for this to be recorded.)