John McDonnell MP has sent the following open letter to his Labour colleagues:
Dear Colleague,
Proposed Welfare Benefits Bill
As
you know, Osborne announced that the Coalition is to bring forward
before Christmas a Bill to sanction the cuts in welfare benefits set out
in yesterday’s autumn statement.
We
all know that there is no need for primary legislation to implement
these cuts and that this is his crude and blatantly cynical attempt to
lay what he considers will be a political trap for Labour.
In
his crude political terms, his obvious aim is to be able to claim that
if Labour votes against or abstains on his Bill then we are on the side
of the so called skivers whilst the Tories are the champions of the
strivers. If we do vote for the Bill he will then cite our vote as
support for his attack on benefits.
Like
many right wing politicians over the years, when their policies are
demonstrably failing they reach for a scapegoat. It’s often the poor
simply because they haven’t the power to defend themselves.
I
believe that we shouldn’t allow ourselves to be dragged into the gutter
of politics by Osborne’s exploitation of the poorest and most
vulnerable in our society.
Instead of falling for this grubby trap us let’s take them on, on this issue.
If
we have the courage and behave astutely, we could turn this cynical
ploy by Osborne into an opportunity for us to transform the debate on
the issues of welfare, poverty, unemployment and fairness in our
society.
This means stop all
hesitation on this matter and making it clear now that we are not voting
for this cynical attack on the poorest, which includes cutting benefits
to many people in work and struggling to survive on low pay and often
poverty wages.
It means saying now
that we are taking the Tories on, on the issue of fairness. Nobody,
especially ordinary working people, likes a skiver but there are
mechanisms that can deal with this and if they need improving well let’s
have that debate. The fact is that it is becoming increasingly obvious
to our people that it is the rich and wealthy, who are ripping us off
with tax dodging. It is equally becoming obvious whose side the Tories
are on.
Let’s seize upon this
opportunity to highlight the real facts about the hardship that so many
of our people are facing. Most of our community are under pressure. Many
are only a couple of pay packets away from a life on the edge. Many
others have tipped over into debt and poverty.
Let’s
turn the tables on Osborne and use this opportunity to expose this
reality and offer our alternative of a fair tax system and investment
for growth led employment.
Let’s get
out there and build the coalition of all those people and organisations
who are willing to speak out on what is happening to our people. That
means nationally and locally bringing together not just all the
charities and campaigning organisations that take an interest in poverty
and welfare but all the churches, mosques, synagogues, gurdwaras,
community organisations and anyone with a conscience on this issue.
Let’s lead in forming a new national coalition against poverty and those who attack the poor.
Let’s
enlist the support of people from all walks of life, including artists
and performers, in the same way we did in the fight against the
prejudice of the Nazis against black people and ethnic minorities.
In many ways it’s the same struggle against prejudice mobilised by cynical politicians.
It
should start though by making it clear immediately that we are not
playing Osborne’s cynical political games. We are not voting for his
cuts to the poor.
Yours ,
John McDonnell MP
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