EVEN COMPARED to other specimens who sit on the government benches Westminster, Sir Howe is a walking disaster area.
The very fact that he had to sland up in the Commons last Wednesday to announce a mini-budget showed that he got his sums wrong in his main budget delivered just over six months ago.
Howe didn't admit that last week, nor did he confess that once again the Tory government was announcing a budget of privilege in which the poor, the sick and working people would be made to pay tor an economic crisis the exactly is a relapse ?
at Geoffrey creases of four the pay of pubiic servants .
WATSICR
known tent Howe then disclosed 'Our spending plans provide broadly for in,per cent available to "hat means a drop in real wages for low paid public sector workers. There are, however, some public ser vants who have not been so badly treated by the Tories since Thatcher came to office. For instance, a cabinet reccivca a rise trom June 1980 to June 1981 of 101 per cent workhouse the House of Lords did even better. The rise there in the same period was 163.8 per cent. easy target for cuts the National Health Service", he said. This announcement came the day after the Guardian reported that the Tories were preparing to woo public opinion to agree to the abolition of the National Health Service as it stands today."
Contrast The government were reported to be pianning a or moves achieve this. One was to make the paSzCTOTe TOTTATEeRT and services. On Wednesday. continued the existing trend in that CHECNOID increasing prescription charges by 30 per cent minimum den tal charges by over 300 per cent and chare such rista weste alardedeny, such rises were awarded by Howe when it came to student grants These are to be kept to a four per cent A servant of the class into which he was born: Sir Geoffrey as a public school boy. increase, eight per cent behind inflation. This will hit working ciass youth hardest. Richer families will be able to "make up' the deficit in the form of parental contribution to grants Not that all that many people will have a chance to go to university anyway. places available by 120,000. Growth to Disregarding went on to maintain, We are planning Howe to spend very substantial extra sums of money next security.
That's true enough.
reason the Tories are spending more on social security is because of the rise of unemployment. Every unemployed person costs £4,380 a year, according to the latest Treasury figures.
deliberate meaningful two per cent.
Tories are cutting the nounced contributions employees, such facts, Howe ditional costs.
year on But the Revenue.
That's the price of the Tories' unemployment policies.
But rather than try and do something CUL RG number Jobless, Sir Geoffrey announced that unemployment benefit will be cut by And it's not just the out of worl who will be Howe's victims. He anhigher national insurance paid for by rather than the bosses Howe said: *It is moreover right that those in work should shoulder the adThat might sound fair enough After all, the money has to be found from somewhere to pay for the extra £300,000. Howe will be spending on unemployment beneilts. But what the Chancellor did not mention is that there are some who could be classified as 'out of work" who are not being asked to 'shoulder additional costs"
Who these are revealed If figures recently issued by the Inlan пс 75,000 people received showed that Ba tiennd mone wi o beat fected by Sir Geoffrey's budget, Thi is hardly surprising as it is a fair bet that many of those 75,000 are among the Torics' most loyal supporters.