The immense growth in food banks, homelessness and the sense of despair that have forced the government to appoint a minister for suicide prevention. Those are just some of the consequences after almost ten years of Tory leadership. Regarding this topic, an event will take place on July the 17th.
Nathan Raia
The United Kingdom adopted austerity measures after the 2008 economic crisis, considered by many economists the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. These steps were taken to prevent budget deficits reaching unsustainable levels, as a result of the global crisis.
But, the Conservative party, since 2010, has inflicted great misery on its country. Austerity measures ceased to be adopted as a countermeasure to the economic crisis, but became a political tool for social re-engineering, as the United Nations poverty envoy has found.
In November 2018, Philip Alston, the UN’s rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights in the world, conducted two weeks of research, visiting all four of the UK’s countries. At the end of it, he presented a 24-page report to the UN, concluding that in the UK “poverty is a political choice”.
According to the report, 14 million people live in poverty, which is a fifth of the British population, and 1.5 million are indigent, completely unable to afford basic essentials. Moreover, it has been predicted that by 2022 child poverty could reach 40%.
This fact has been described by Mr Alston as “not just a disgrace, but a social calamity and an economic disaster”, even if the UK is the fifth largest economy in the world.
The rise of the work of charity groups should have served as a warning for the British government regarding the economic situation among its citizens, as commented by the UN’s rapporteur. Also, the number of people that use food banks has increased exponentially, with long queues waiting outside them.
So, the event “Hackney Stands With Corbyn – Unite to End Tory Austerity” hosted by Labour Assembly Against Austerity, London Labour Left, Arise: A Festival of Labour’s Left ideas, John McDonnell – The People’s Chancellor and Jeremy Corbyn for PM, will take place, in London.
The organisers are asserting that Tory austerity is devastating the country, and smaller areas such as the Borough of Hackney are facing the misery caused by the crisis. As a solution to the country’s and Hackney’s troubles, they propose a new government led by Jeremy Corbyn, that, as they say, would invest in the future of the UK.
Among the speakers will be: Diane Abbott, MP; Claudia Webbe, Labour NEC; Murad Qureshi, former London Assembly Member and Stop the War Coalition; and more local speakers and special guests that still have to be announced.
Date and place: Wednesday, 17 July 2019, from 7 pm. to 9 pm. At BSix Sixth Form College, Hackney Kenninghall Rd, London, E5 8BP. For further information, visit the Facebook event page.
Photos: Pixabay
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