Mark Glover, Newington's Chief Executive, analyses Jeremy Corbyn's response to the Autumn Budget.
An aggressive Labour response was delivered by Jeremy Corbyn in a strong denunciation of the Conservative Government’s record on running the economy, highlighting falling pay, slow growth and rising poverty as the real Tory legacy. In a tone often more often heard at a demo than in the Commons Chamber, he highlighted rough sleeping as an example of the consequences of Government policies, arguing that the Tories didn’t care about the many and that its response across a number of policy areas just was not adequate.
Corbyn claimed to speak for those working in the public sector who did not feel that the Government was keeping its promises on the National Health Service and highlighted that its response fell well short of what Labour would have delivered. On Universal Credit, Corbyn was equally scathing, arguing the proposed changes were inadequate and that the poor were the people carrying the biggest burden of austerity.
He proceeded to rattle off where investment in public services lagged behind what Labour would have done, arguing that Government cuts to police, the health and local government services were pushing too many people into poverty. He tipped his hat to the unions, highlighting Unison’s victory in defeating the Government in the courts by reversing employment tribunal fees.
Corbyn chided the Government for being weak on regulation resulting in consumers getting a bad deal, highlighting railways, water utilities and energy companies. All these sectors are on high alert to the threat of widening public ownership from a potential Corbyn/McDonnell led Labour Government.
He then moved on to champion the North and Midlands, which he said was losing out to London in the Government spending plans - something which will jar with Sadiq Khan in a London election year.
Corbyn then warned about the Government’s plans to turn Britain into an offshore tax haven and claimed that the Conservative only protected the rich.
His conclusion followed his standard pitch of the Conservatives representing the interests of a rich few, but this was definitely a speech for his Labour audiences. It will please his supporters in the Unions and Momentum as he needs to emphasise the divide between the rich and the poor in order to keep his people moving towards the promised land of a Socialist Labour Government, but his total avoidance of commenting on Europe will annoy many pro-European moderates and perhaps some of his younger supporters. His lack of any real critical analysis of Hammond’s speech will also play into concerns about his leadership amongst more traditional Labour MPs who might expect more from their Leader in the Commons following a major political set piece like the Budget and at a critical time for the UK economy.
