'Bleak Britain' - money worries, job fears, families hurting
hardest
24 March 2011
140,000 people reveal reality of life in
coalition Britain
Ahead of the march for the alternative, set to see thousands
throng the capital to protest against the cuts, the country's
biggest union reveals that many people in the UK are now
"surviving, not living."
Unite's comments come today (Thursday) as it reveals the
responses of 140,000 working people to the cuts, gathered through
an independent poll which has tracked their concerns over the four
months since December right up until the early hours of this
morning. While the responses show expected fears over
council, education and health services they reveal the major worry
for people is their diminishing ability to simply make ends
meet.
Family life is becoming especially hard with those with young
children and a mortgage to pay hardest hit by job cuts and service
reductions, prompting Unite to accuse the coalition government of
failing the future of the country.The picture emerging, the union
says, is one of "Bleak Britain."
Tens of thousands of responses have been analysed by independent
polling company Mass1, which reports that the five concerns for
workers are:
- money worries, with many reporting a real struggle to make ends
meet
- job fears, with private sector workers beginning to lose their
jobs and an increase in outsourcing; families with young children
and single parents are prominent within this group.
- council service cuts generally: middle-aged couples on low
incomes are especially hit by council cuts
- NHS services, largely around problems getting treatment as a
result of cuts: younger couples, single people and more affluent
parents are prominent within this group
- education worries, with class sizes, nursery places and
teaching staff reductions all concerns
Len McCluskey, Unite general secretary, said: "In Bleak Britain it
seems the way to survive is do not live outside the wealthy parts
of the country, do not rely on public services, make sure you have
plenty of money - and absolutely do not have a family.
"People are surviving, not living. Services are
disappearing. Queues are growing for medical treatment, and
once again parents are worrying about class sizes. These are
issues we thought that we had put behind us. Families are
being failed and benefit changes in April will tighten the screw
further still. An interest rate rise in the summer will push the
many just managing to keep their head above the water under and
into desperate circumstances.
"George Osborne may want to emulate Nigel Lawson but as yet
another generation of Britons finds life under a Conservative
government a real struggle, these are retreads this country can
well do without.
"This Saturday the capital will shake with the call for
change. The government must listen and change tack. If
it does not, then both parties in the coalition deserve the
unpopularity and condemnation coming their way."
The union also says that regional trends are emerging with:
- Health cuts hitting hardest in London and Yorkshire
- Council cuts are hitting hardest in Yorkshire and the North
West
- Jobs fears are strongest in Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester,
Birmingham and London
and that outsourcing of jobs and services is on the rise.
The poll is based on the 160,000 responses from some 143,000 people
polled by Mass1, an independent research organisation, spread
across the population centres of the UK. The trends have
emerged during a polling exercise that began in December
2010. The most recent poll began on Tuesday 22 March
2011.
Those taking part in the poll were asked: "What cuts are you seeing
locally? What cuts are happening in your area?"
Thousands of Unite members from across the UK are expected to
join the March for the Alternative in London on Saturday 26
March.
ENDS
For further information, please contact Pauline Doyle on 07976
832 861
