Jenny Sutton for Tottenham - questions answered - Inequality

I have received hundreds of email asking for my position on may varied subjects. I am posting some of them on HoL. You can see more by visiting my campaign website at www.jennysutton4tottenham.com. xJenny

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Dear Tottenham candidates,
 
In the run up to the election, one of the major issues affecting my vote is what candidates will do to tackle economic inequality. 
 
You might already be aware that London has the highest inequality of income of any UK city and that the very richest have greatly increased their incomes since the recession, while income for the great majority has fallen in real terms.
 
Wealth inequality is even more extreme - the top 10% of London households have 172 times the wealth of the bottom 10%.  Given that the average price of all properties in London was over £425,000 in 2013 and is still rising, it is no wonder that we have a major housing crisis. 
 
This is part of a bigger picture: the UK has one of the worst rates of income inequality in the developed world, which numerous studies have shown to cause damage to individual health, social cohesion, social mobility and economic stability.  Everyone would benefit from greater equality, not just the poorest.
 
I would be really interested to hear from you on the following points if you are able to take the time to answer:
 
1. Do you agree that the government should adopt a target that the net impact of its policies will be to reduce overall economic inequality?
2. What policies, if any, will you support that will contribute to the reduction of UK economic inequality?
 
I really look forward to hearing from you.
 
Yours sincerely,

Xxxx xxxxxxx

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Dear Xxx,
Thank you for emailing me. Growing inequality is, I believe, the most pressing issue of this election. Despite what politicians say, life has got much harder for most of us:

* We’ve been hit by pay cuts, soaring rents and the bedroom tax, and Tottenham has the highest unemployment in London. 27% of workers here earn less than the living wage, and more than a third of local jobs are part time. 
* Our youth face an uncertain future. Since 2010 there has been a 50% rise in long-term unemployment for black, Asian and minority ethnic youth, and there are more 16-24 year olds on zero-hours contracts than any other age group. Tuition fees saddle young people with unpayable debt, and rising rents and house prices make independence a dream. 
* The NHS and education are being starved of funds and slowly privatised. Care for the elderly is collapsing. Disabled people are being stripped of their rights, independence and dignity.

Politicians argue that austerity is necessary to reduce the debt. But debt as a proportion of GDP is higher now than it was before the 2008 crisis. And debt doesn’t have to mean cuts in public services – after the war, the national debt was much higher than it is now, but because of pressure from below, the government built the NHS, state education and council housing. The real debt problems are the pay-day loans and credit card bills caused by low pay and benefit cuts.

The deficit only means that the government is spending more than it’s collecting in taxes. But if they paid us more, we’d pay more taxes; if they capped rents, they’d spend less on housing benefit; and the deficit could be wiped in an instant by taxing the rich!

£120 billion of tax is dodged every year. According to the BBC, 10% of all the financial wealth of UK is held offshore and evades tax. If UK companies paid as much tax as they did in Thatcher’s last year (1990), UK accounts would now be £30 billion better off. A 10% wealth tax alone would raise £52 billion every year! Enough is enough – end austerity, tax the rich, jail tax dodgers.

There is no doubt that austerity is making us poorer – but at the same time making the rich richer. £1.2 trillion of our money was used to bail out the banks who caused the financial crisis, but the politicians are making us pay: the £80 billion in austerity cuts since 2008 is the same amount the bankers have received in bonuses in the same period, and our city is now the most unequal in the world. Massive profits are being made from the outsourcing of public services. The richest 1000 have doubled their wealth since 2009; there are more billionaires per head in the UK than in any other country in the world – and yet one million people rely on food banks. It’s a scandal that in the 6th richest country in the world, 3.5 million children now live in poverty. This will increase to 5 million by 2020 unless we get real change. 

The Tories openly champion the privileged few. But thirteen years of Labour government gave us illegal war, the privatisation and outsourcing of public services, tuition fees and a massive growth in inequality.  We can demand better. 

For most of this century a third party vote was seen as wasted, but the 2015 election is different. No party looks set to achieve a majority, and small parties are getting heard. We need voices on the left in Parliament who can speak up for ordinary people whose futures are being trashed. The general election is our chance to say enough is enough. For the future of our families, our community and our planet, we can choose now to put people before profit and public services before corporate greed.

MPs are overpaid, out of touch and too often don’t live in their constituencies. I’ve lived and worked in Tottenham for over 25 years. My children went to Tottenham schools.  This is my community and I’m here to stay.

* I am the chair of the UCU teachers’ union at CONEL College where I’ve been teaching for 22 years. I’ve fought against cuts and redundancies, for workers’ rights and for a living wage for the cleaners
* I’ve organised against local cuts and to help save St Ann’s Hospital
* I’ve campaigned against illegal wars and for the rights of the Palestinian and Kurdish peoples
* I’ve campaigned against police racism and marched with the families of Cynthia Jarrett, Joy Gardner, Roger Sylvester and Mark Duggan
* I’ve challenged deportations and defended the rights of refugees and migrants
I am standing in this election to show that we don’t have to accept the inevitably of cuts, and that our side can organise to win.