Trade unions need to step up and force a turn in the policies of the labour movement to effectively confront the far-right threat, argues NICK WRIGHT
THIS week’s budget should be judged by one key issue — whether it improves the living standards of the vast majority of people in this country. On that, it clearly failed.
Over the coming months, the poorest families will receive a £20 per week universal credit cut plunging half a million people, including 200,000 children, into poverty just as unemployment is expected to rise.
Key workers will be hit by ongoing real terms pay cuts despite their heroics throughout this crisis. While one million lower-paid workers will be forced into paying income tax as a result of stealth taxes imposed in the budget.
A sharp rise in public-sector investment is required to kick-start the economy, argues MICHAEL BURKE
Trade unions call for windfall tax hike to fund social energy tariff to public’s energy bills
Only an ambitious programme of state-led investment can restore growth and improve living standards, argues MICHAEL BURKE
The 2025 Budget shores up the PM’s political position with headline-grabbing welfare U-turns, but with no improvements on offer to declining public services or living standards, writes MICHAEL BURKE



