The Star recently outlined the impact of Government tax credit cuts on 43,000 children in the poorest 27,000 working families in Sheffield. The Institute for Fiscal Studies says each family affected will be £1,000 worse off on average from next April. But it doesn’t stop there. From April 2017 further tax credits cuts will remove support for every new child born into a two child family.
These cuts are almost Dickensian in their likely impact and persecution of the poor. More families will struggle with their rent, mortgages, food and fuel bills. Homelessness will increase, putting more pressure on overstretched Council and voluntary services. To conceal responsibility, the Government plans to scrap the current definition of poverty in the Child Poverty Act, and the legally binding targets to reduce child poverty.
Only the Green Party has consistently stood out against austerity in England. It’s time for all political parties to speak out for the majority of voters they represent and denounce the Government’s austerity agenda. We need a collective vision of a fairer and more socially just society. We remain the 6th richest world nation and can afford to ensure all children are brought up in a safe and secure family home.
Stewart Kemp
Ecclesall Ward Green Party