3rd October

The economy has again dominated the headlines this week.

No matter which party would have won last year’s election, significant cuts would have to have been made. Before the election Labour set out detailed ways to get the deficit down by saving spending and cutting waste on welfare, education and Home Office spending, for example.

The Tories say Labour spent too much, so the economic crisis was Labour’s fault. But I don’t agree. Before the recession the Tories promised to match Labour’s spending. Now they want us to believe that the global economic crisis was Labour’s fault.

And anyway, the Lehman Brothers bank in New York didn’t collapse because parents in Dudley got tax credits or because we had more teachers and teaching assistants in local schools. And the worldwide economy wasn’t plunged into a financial crisis because we got a brand new £300 million hospital with more doctors and nurses than ever before at Russells Hall.

But when recession hit, people lost their jobs. They had to claim benefits instead of paying taxes. The government still had to meet the wage bill and Labour spent money to get the economy moving and save people’s jobs.

At Labour Party Conference this week I heard a really important speech from Labour’s Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls. He did something that David Cameron and George Osborne have been unable to do: he put forward a credible plan for growth.

At its heart is a five point plan to get the economy moving again by temporarily reducing VAT, repeating the bank bonus tax and offering a national insurance break for firms who take on new workers.

With the queues outside job centres in Dudley continuing to grow, tackling unemployment must be our number one priority. 10% of people in our area are now jobless. The plan Labour announced last week would repeat the bank bonus tax in order to guarantee a job for 100,000 young people. We’d also give a one year national insurance holiday to every firm which takes on extra workers. These two measures would offer real chances for people to move from the dole queue to the shop floor.

Secondly, reversing January’s VAT rise for a temporary period would put money in the pockets of people who need it most. People are fearful about the future at the moment and I know many families have been forced to stop saving and will have to spend less this Christmas. This measure would give a family with two kids a boost of £450. It would also be good news for our high street. We all know the town centre is struggling at the moment, with the amount of empty shops in Dudley among the highest in the country. A cut in VAT would provide some much needed relief for shops on our high street and help get tills ringing again.

Finally, this plan addresses the housing crisis facing our country. At the moment prices are still too high and people are struggling to get on the housing ladder so increasing supply is essential. The average age of first time buyers is 37 and high rents, stagnant wages and low interest rates are making it very difficult to save for a deposit. By repeating the bonus tax 25,000 new homes could be built, helping to ease the pressure on housing supply and improve the market for everyone.

As the last twelve months have shown and as all of the economic figures are indicating,slashing public spending without having a credible plan for growth is economic suicide. This package offers a credible, steady, balanced plan to boost the economy and get people back into work.

College Question Time

I had a really interesting discussion with Dudley College students last Friday when I popped down to take part in a question and answer session. There are some massive challenges facing young people at the moment. Top of the list for the students I met was the rising cost of education and the lack of jobs for people coming out of college and university. The students were knowledgeable and opinionated and we had a lively discussion.

The visit also gave me the chance to congratulate the students’ union and Kim Hughes on their recent NUS awards. The College won FE Students’ Union of the year and Kim Hughes won Student Unionist of this year. They ran a fantastic campaign opposing the unfair EMA cuts last year. Both awards are richly deserved and I look to seeing staff and students again soon.