Tag Archives: autumn statement 2016

What to expect from the Lib Dems in response to the Autumn Statement

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 23rd November 2016 - 1:30 pm

Tim Farron makes yet another visit to Richmond Park, this time to talk about the disastrous effects of a hard Brexit ahead of the Autumn Statement, it’s worth taking a look at what Liberal Democrats make of the expected announcements so far. Unsurprisingly, the rhetoric of helping the poorest doesn’t really stack up with the reality.

Let’s take the reduction of the Universal Credit taper rate to 63%<b>.</b>For the vast majority of people getting Universal Credit, a 2p in the pound reduction in the taper rate will not offset the cuts to UC brought in by the Conservatives last year. They will also feel the pinch because of rising prices and slower growth in wages, so they are likely to end up worse off overall and that’s before you even start to factor in the effects of the post Brexit economic meltdown.

On housing, their headline pledge of 40,000 houses doesn’t even scratch the surface – bearing in mind that in Scotland alone, the target is 50,000 over 5 years. You have to remember that the Tories are not the best fans of social housing, telling Nick Clegg that they just housed Labour voters.

Lib Dems have long called for councils to be allowed to borrow for housebuilding as this is the fastest way to get more homes built.