Letter sent by west lothian branch to local newspapers on upcoming cuts.

This week the full extent of the proposed Tory-Lib Dems cuts deemed necessary to deal with ‘the economic mess inherited from the previous Labour Government’ have been revealed for ordinary working class and middle income families to ponder.

Prior to the announced cuts, thousands of jobs, both in the public and private sectors, have already been lost as a result of the economic crisis provoked by the perceived need for the Government to bail out several banks on the brink of bankruptcy to the tune of £350 billion.

However, this latest “crisis of capitalism” can and should be dealt with in a different manner from the Labour, Tory, Lib Dem and SNP politicians who all agree that cuts have to be made to reduce the budget deficit and level of national indebtedness but only disagree on the timetable for said cuts which will result in further job losses, more repossessed houses and reduced living standards.

The truth is there are plenty of alternatives for dealing with the debt crisis that avoid the need to curtail essential services and jobs in the public sector. These include shutting off tax avoidance and evasion schemes used by wealthy companies that cost this country over £100bn annually; taxing the huge profits amassed by the banks and the obscene bonuses given to their top employees; scrapping Public Private Partnership schemes to build our schools, hospitals, prisons and roads at a greatly inflated cost to the tax payer; withdrawing our troops from the senseless war in Afghanistan; and cancelling plans for the multi-billion replacement for the ageing Trident submarines which would not only be beneficial to national finances but also serve to promote the cause of nuclear disarmament and reduce the threat of global annihilation.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has given notice that the pain and suffering via cuts in services and job losses already endured by many working people in the wake of the current economic crisis are to be amplified and extended much more widely. He claims that his proposed course of action to deal with the budget deficit and national debt is in the ‘national interest’. Not so when there are perfectly viable alternatives that avoid hardship for the vast majority of citizens.