Autumn Statement Makes Dangerous Assumptions

The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement and Spending Review today make a dangerous assumption centred around the £47B of extra tax being collected in the next fiscal year.

This money is not a guaranteed income to the exchequer, and a flimsy basis for announcing vast spending plans. Budgetary predictions have had a habit of being wrong. For example, austerity was supposed to eliminate the deficit by 2015. In fact it has barely halved. Osbourne has created more new debt in 4 years than every other Labour government in history.

Pippa Bartolotti, Wales Green Party Leader said, “It is worrying that the future of the UK is being based on a hopeful prediction, and not a reality. U-turns are becoming a feature of this government, and whilst we heartily welcome the U-turn on tax credits, we are concerned that this spending review is based more on luck than judgement as the interest government pays on its debt remains at an historic low.

“Our environment, the basis for life on this planet, has not had the assistance we desperately need it to have. Our burgeoning solar and renewables sectors are being killed off, along with many of our animals and plants. The Chancellor could have used his speech to invest in low carbon housebuilding, to reduce taxes on low carbon industries, and to invest heavily in public transport.

“Investing more in housing only makes sense if it is built to the best possible environmental standards, which will take people out of fuel poverty and minimise Co2 production. We need a government of ecological literacy if we are to have anything like a sustainable society. Instead Defra has had the biggest cuts of any department.

“We need a Chancellor who prioritizes our needs for the future. Wales could be a model of new energy generation, but instead more money is going into the Cardiff City Deal, completely ignoring the potential of Mid and North Wales which could be a ‘powerhouse’ in the true sense of the word.

The Wales Green Party recognises that abolition of the need for a referendum on the devolution of income tax in Wales is a good thing, and will save money which can be better directed elsewhere.