The Conservatives say they believe in personal responsibility, yet they are trotting out excuses for all the problems 12 years of Tory governments have caused. How is it possible that our public services are on their knees at the same time as we pay the highest taxes for 70 years?

The September ‘Kamikaze’ budget was one last throw of the dice that is costing millions of families thousands of pounds with mortgage renewals costing over £400 more a month on average. The Truss, Kwarteng budget was a mess, and the markets decided “trickle down” economics would keep making us poorer, so we could never pay off the 12 years of Tory debt. We know taking money off us and giving it to the mega-rich was not a change of direction – just speeding up the process so everyone could see it. November’s Hunt budget was an admission of defeat with no growth plan and more Tory stealth taxes for everyone but the super-rich. The IMF and Bank of England say this recession is already deeper and will continue longer than in any other of the richest developed countries.

We have a chancellor worth £14-million working for a Prime Minister worth £700-million, which would be fine if everyone was doing well. But their freezing of tax bands takes more tax from the lowest paid and is equivalent to putting the standard rate up by 2%, allowing local authorities to put council tax up by 5% when they know they are cash-strapped is another sneaky Tory tax rise. All because they refuse to tax their ultra rich mates. 

Where Labour agrees with last summer’s Tory leadership candidates is the failure of the preceding 12 years of Conservative government. Had the economy grown at the same rate as under Labour since 2010, each year’s GDP would be £160-billion higher now and that should have gone into wages. During the Labour years, the extra wealth created by people’s work went to the people not just a few at the top, with the average wage going up by £8,000 (£16,000 for many families). It’s rare that wages go up that much but until 2010 they have gone up every decade for 200 years. They are going down now because they are being stolen.

While Labour made sure growth went into wages, the Tories have structured the economy so it all goes to a few of their rich mates. The super-rich have four times as much wealth as they had in 2010. If you divide the money that went to the richest 1,000 people between every worker that’s £25,000 each or £2,000 each year since 2010.

The Tories will keep stealing £2,000 from you, your partner and every adult you know to give to the richest people in the world, and they will keep stealing £2,000 every year until we get them out of power.

Austerity made us poorer. Labour understands the economy is like a business: if you invest in infrastructure, train people up, and get the NHS sorted so people are fit to work, you grow the economy. That’s why the 1945 Labour government brought the debt to GDP ratio down faster than any government in our history, increased wages, and make the economy successful for businesses and the people. Labour has done it before and Labour will do it again.