During the current economic downturn, I believe the Government must step in - to help people during tough times, and to invest for the future. We cannot cut our way out of recession.
Since 1997 the Government has focused on increasing work, and in times of great uncertainty that focus on protecting and supporting those at risk – the natural instinct of a Labour government – is all the more important. The provisions in the latest Budget to boost funding for Jobcentre Plus by £1.7 billion and give a job guarantee for under-25s out of work for a year are evidence of that commitment.
Over the last dozen years, unemployment in Islington South & Finsbury has seen one of the biggest falls in Britain. But statistics are meaningless if you’re without work at a time like this, which is why it is so important that we do everything we can to help people find jobs and cope with these difficult economic times.
Tax credit support will be extended to those who are moved to part-time working, and in April 2009 credits for families with children increased by an extra £150 a year. I’d like to see benefits increased to include a London weighting, and I am campaigning with other London Labour MPs for this change to happen. I am pleased the Government have recognised the importance of tax credits that help working parents in London struggling with high costs of housing and child care.
I welcome the latest Budget’s introduction of a 50% tax rate for the country’s top 1% of earners. I believe it is fair and right that those most able to pay, those who have benefitted most from the good times of the past decade, should contribute more to help this country get through the downturn.
I will continue pressing with more action to support my constituents in work and strengthen the economy. To read my recent speech on the 2009 Budget click here
