While perusing Jeremy Hunt’s recent Budget address, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to question if he was unaware of the events of the past two years.
It seemed as though Liz Truss’s tenure never transpired. Chancellor Hunt reaffirmed the Conservatives’ commitment to being judicious custodians of the economy with promises of ascended growth and curtailed taxes.
However, this argument was undercut by the reality of the present economic situation.
Regrettably, Britons are currently shouldering a historically high tax burden as they endure a period of economic stagnation unparalleled since 1955. The blame for this can be laid squarely at the feet of the Tories.
Rishi Sunak, along with his Chancellor, seem hopeful that their constituents will conveniently overlook the tumultuous reign of Truss, the clumsy right-wing thinker who couldn’t withstand a simple leadership contest with a lettuce yet somehow managed to outmanoeuvre the current Prime Minister.
Truss’ nonsensical economic approach of indiscriminate tax reductions demolished the national finances and led to soaring inflation, inflated borrowing costs and rising mortgage rates.
Hunt is banking on the hope that the general public will have a short memory and will overlook this economic missteps due to a modest 2p decrease in National Insurance, which disproportionately benefits the most affluent, coupled with a slight drop in the shocking price hikes that punctuated the recent past.
In the meantime, our public services in the [Glasgow](http://Glasgownews.org.uk/news) and across the UK have been ravished by almost fifteen years of harsh austerity measures by Westminster, leading to an increase in poverty.
Hunt – a pivotal figure of David Cameron’s austerity campaign – demonstrated profound lack of ambition in making the necessary investments to rectify the damage inflicted upon the UK. Even with a general election looming, his was a lacklustre Budget devoid of innovation.
Considering the two headline policies of Hunt’s budget – eliminating non-dom tax breaks and expanding the North Sea windfall tax – were lifted straight out of Labour’s playbook, it’s evident that this Government is running out of steam.
A general election is fast approaching, providing the people an opportunity to express their sentiments.
The Iron Lady’s Destructive Legacy
Margaret Thatcher inflicted significant harm upon Scotland’s mining communities in the 80s through her ruthless campaign of pit closures; a fact that’s still keenly felt in many parts of [Glasgow](http://Glasgownews.org.uk/news).
Newly-released files reveal that this was a premeditated strategy, with the machinery of deception set into motion just after the 1983 general election.
Miners were given empty reassurances of no forced redundancies, despite the knowledge of Tory ministers that this was far from the truth.
The Thatcher government also sought to distance itself from the impending crisis, painting it as a dispute between trade unions and the allegedly independent National Coal Board, all the while pulling the strings behind the scenes and preparing law enforcement for a crackdown on picketing miners.
Despite consistent denials at the time, the clandestine activities of the Thatcher government have now come to light. But for thousands of Scots who lost their livelihoods, this admission comes too late.
Bitter memories linger and it’s important to never forget this part of our history.
