Letter to my local Labour MP Roberta Blackman-Woods on Balls child benefit freeze wheeze: Dear Roberta, I was extremely dismayed to hear Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls announce to Labour Party Conference that not only would an incoming Labour Government match the Coalitions commitment to freeze child benefit below 1% for 2016, but it would go further to freeze child benefit for another year, until 2017. Freezing child benefit is a catch all, punitive measure which will have a devastating effect on poor families. As Alison Garnham of the Child Poverty Action group said: “Child benefit will have lost 14 per cent of its value over the course of this parliament. Another two years of lost value will mean families will be £190 a year worse off for their first child and £125 for any subsequent children by 2016/17.” Id expect the Tories to target the poorest, in terms of cutting benefits and squeezing living standards, but expect better from my own party - the party which was responsible for the emergence of the modern welfare state. I firmly believe, along with thousands of other Labour Party members I suspect, that children should not bear the costs of an economic crisis caused by the gamblers in the city. The point is, as party members, we were never consulted about such a devastating policy decision. If we had been, I think it is common sense to suggest that it would have been rejected it outright. The logic of targeting child benefit flies in the face of our values and traditions, which have sought to defend the weakest in society from the ravages of poverty and economic uncertainty. It is, quite frankly, a disgrace that this policy was announced without any democratic mandate in the party. None of it was open to debate - the policy was presented as a fait accompli. As a result, Id anticipate that it will cause anger on a par with the votes on Workfare and the Welfare Cap, which caused such discontent in the party. After a summer in which disillusion in politicians and the political process has been to the forefront of the popular debate, this is the last thing the party needs. In addition, there is a real danger that the policy announced will be a massive vote loser. Id imagine that Ed Balls thinking is that Labour needs to display so called fiscal credibility in the eyes of the banks and the rightwing media, but as Michael Meacher pointed out at the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy (CLPD) fringe meeting at conference, Labours lack of credibility with actual voters lies with the fact that they are promising more cuts, not more public spending. The freeze on child benefit will have a huge impact on potential Labour voters all over the country - and as a policy, it may prove electorally disastrous come GE 2015. Of course, addressing the UKs economic woes is essential, but it should be done in a way that is fair and protects the poorest and most vulnerable in our society. There are a number of revenue raising options open to the party - from an increase in the top rate of tax, to a Land Value Tax and the rigorous closing of tax loopholes - and it is my firm belief that freezing child benefits, even for two years, is as regressive as it gets. Please register my opposition to this policy and communicate it to Mr Balls at the earliest possible opportunity. Yours Ben Sellers
Posted on: Thu, 25 Sep 2014 21:42:36 +0000
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