While British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Autumn budget rollout was accompanied by much fanfare and lofty promises—”the era of austerity is finally coming to an end,” proclaimed U.K. finance minister Philip Hammond—the specifics of the budget detailed on Monday were met with a mixture of disgust and alarm by the Labour Party and environmentalists, who argued that the plan is stuffed with “half measures” and tax cuts for the rich but zero policies to address the human-caused climate crisis.
“Cannot believe how out of touch this government is.”
—Caroline Lucas, Green Party MPHighlighting May’s recent speech declaring that deep cuts to public spending are over, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn excoriated May and Hammond for delivering a “broken promise budget” that vows “quick fixes while austerity grinds on.”
“Far from people’s hard work and sacrifices having paid off… this government has frittered it away in ideological tax cuts to the richest in our society,” Corbyn said. “The government claims austerity has worked so now they can end it. That is absolutely the opposite of the truth—austerity needs to end because it has failed.”
Just ahead of May’s big budget unveil, the Labour Party tweeted out a video that portrays May and her cabinet as cruel plutocrats and condemns their record of slashing life-saving programs for vulnerable in order to deliver massive gifts to the ultra-wealthy.
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Though May’s Autumn budget does call for some increases in social spending, critics said these boosts will not be nearly enough to recover from years of Tory austerity.
“Your budget is an insult to our young people’s future.”
—MomentumWhile touting the budget’s proposed increase in education spending, Hammond boasted that schools will now be able to afford “the little extras they need”—a remark that was quickly denounced as an insult to British schools that are facing massive teacher shortages and cutting hours due to lack of funds.
“Cannot believe how out of touch this government is,” Caroline Lucas, co-leader of the U.K. Green Party, wrote on Twitter. “Schools don’t just need money for ‘little extras’—they are struggling to pay staff, upkeep buildings, and provide vital support to children with special needs.”
The grassroots left-wing group Momentum added that, in May’s budget, “schools are getting less money than the pot hole fund.”
“We have oversized classes, lack of basic stationery, and a cap on teachers’ pay,” the group wrote on Twitter. “Your budget is an insult to our young people’s future.”