(Cynon Valley) (Lab):...It is
not simply because of the pandemic or inflation, although that
has made matters worse. For 12 years, we have seen and
experienced austerity measures in this country and the Tories
have overseen a reduction in wages, including holding down public
sector pay for key workers. I have just come off a call with a
number of trade unions and other organisations, and the
National Education Union was saying that since
2010 there have been 20% to 25% real-terms cuts in their members’
pay because of the continuous pay freeze. It is not just about
the cuts at the moment, but about the cuts over the longer
term...
...We must overturn over a decade of underinvestment through
austerity, and end the rip-off of privatisation. I am an advocate
of bringing utilities back into public ownership. As the hon.
Member for Ceredigion suggested, we should look at what France
has done in terms of limiting the increase in the energy cap. We
could be doing the same in this country. As well as a windfall
tax, we could and should introduce a wealth tax, which could
raise in excess of £260 billion a year. The money is here in this
country, but it is not evenly distributed. Those are not radical
policies; they are about meeting people’s basic needs. Everybody
should have enough money to eat, to heat their home, to clothe
their children, and to buy pens for their children to take to
school—as the NEU representative
mentioned, there was no spare money for people to buy pens and
rulers for their children to use to learn in school. What kind of
a society are we creating? It is extremely distressing. We should
have a right to food, and everybody should have access to
affordable and decent housing...
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