Northumbrians have been battered by the Tories who put the party, and not the country, first says Northumberland Labour

Northumberland Labour says 12 years of the Tories have made the gap between the haves and have-nots wider than ever, and it’s only likely to get worse.

Deputy Leader Liz Simpson said: “For a party that prides itself on looking after the finances, it’s not doing a very good job.

“We want people leading our country who are committed to using resources to provide a fair chance for all. What we’ve had for the last 12 years is more children in poverty, real terms cuts in services, rising waiting times for health care, working people having to rely on food banks to feed their families, fewer criminals getting the justice they deserve, rising energy and food costs and fewer people being able to afford a decent home.

“They blame all this on the war in Ukraine and the pandemic but that doesn’t explain what they were doing before 2020. In their first 10 years in power, they cut budgets for public services, failed to build the homes that many people need and took rights away from working people.

“If the Tory government wanted to do something about this it could. The fact is it doesn’t. I don’t think they realise that it’s working people who keep the economy going.

“Labour wants to people not just survive, but thrive. It’s simple economics; pay people better, they spend more and the economy can thrive. Pay people less, people lose jobs, shops and services close and there’s less money to support vital public services. It’s not exactly rocket science.

“And we can achieve growth in a way which tackles climate change too by supporting green initiatives such as renewable energy and insulating people’s homes.”