Lancashire Unite Community condemns Budge Day benefit attacks
Protesters will take to the streets this week as part of a nationwide Day of Action against ongoing social security cuts, timed to coincide with the Chancellor’s Budget announcement.
Lancashire Unite Community branch is calling on trade unionists and community campaigners in Lancaster to rally in Market Square from 3pm on Wednesday, November 26, for publicity stalls and a street meeting at 4pm to oppose the government’s escalating attack on the welfare state. The protest is supported by Lancaster and Morecambe Trades Union Council, and the Tenants and Community Union and Stand up to Racism in Lancaster.
Unite, Britain's biggest trade union, says that these cuts are actively forcing thousands of residents and families locally and across the UK into poverty. It highlights shocking statistics that show one in six benefit claimants are currently in employment, yet are being sanctioned while trying to make ends meet.
The union also points to the draconian use of sanctions, with over 611,000 sanctions issued under Labour since they were elected last year. This figure represents the highest number of sanctions issued by any government, of any political stripe, since the system began.
The original purpose of the benefit system was to act as a national safety net for everyone, regardless of their background—a critical resource when faced with unexpected challenges like job loss, serious illness, or the breakdown of a relationship.
Greg Challis, a spokesperson for Unite Community Lancashire Branch, said: “The Chancellor speaks of economic recovery while simultaneously dismantling the very safety net designed to catch those who fall on hard times. It is indulging in scapegoating of refugees and asylum seekers whilst ignoring the reality of ever growing inequality.
“We are seeing hard working local residents trapped in a cycle of low pay and sanctions. This isn't welfare reform; it is a calculated transfer of poverty onto the shoulders of the most vulnerable. This is not how a compassionate country should function.”
Unite the Union has reaffirmed its commitment to campaigning against these pernicious cuts and calls instead for a Wealth Tax. The 26 November Day of Action marks the continuation of a sustained campaign to protect the founding principles of the welfare state in Britain.