We must be on our guard

Angela Rayner

ASHTON MP Angela Rayner has welcomed George Osborne’s U-turn on tax credits — but warned that looming cuts to local services will hit the most vulnerable.

The news comes after the Chancellor’s announcement yesterday as he delivered what he called “a big spending review from a government that does big things.”

Mr Osborne had promised to modify the plans, which would have seen three million low-income families lose an average of £1,000 a year, after they were rejected by the House of Lords, and criticised by Conservative backbenchers.

Mrs Rayner, MP for Ashton, which covers Failsworth, said the Chancellor’s move after months of opposition was the biggest climbdown “since Sir Edmund Hilary came down from Everest.”

She said: “Thousands of families will be relieved that common sense has prevailed and George Osborne has abandoned his ill-thought-out plans in the face of united opposition from all sides.

“But he caused needless worry and anxiety for people about how they were going to make ends meet. Now we must be on our guard to ensure that he doesn’t smuggle the same cuts through as part of the introduction of Universal Credit.”

Mrs Rayner warned that a five-year freeze in local government spending — it will remain at its current level until 2020 — will “decimate services and destroy jobs.”

She added: “Oldham Council and Tameside Council have already been forced to make horrendous cuts during the last five years, with their budgets cut by almost half.

“Freezing spending on local services for another five years is a savage blow which will destroy tens of thousands of jobs and mean the most vulnerable, who rely on council services, will be left to fend for themselves.

“This is the Tory way — it is a cynical attempt to reduce the welfare state and public services, with no thought for the consequences.

“Giving local councils total responsibility for providing social care in local communities shirks the Government’s responsibility to the most vulnerable people and is a deliberate attempt to shift the blame for failures onto the shoulders of local councils rather than central government.

“I do now fear for our elderly, sick and disabled who rely on social care at home and in the community, if local councils are going to be denied the huge extra money they need to make it work.

“And it now turns out that the Northern Powerhouse is fast becoming the Northern Powercut, because he has given us nothing to help us here in Greater Manchester to create the vibrant, dynamic, go-ahead region we all want.”