The Tories' hatred for the public sector and its services has been evident since the David Cameron coalition government, over a decade ago. But in recent years it has become more damaging and evident than ever, as the Tories make it their hidden agenda to run public services into the ground.
Our so-called democratic government is focused on the sole interests of the rich, in simple terms making the rich richer and the poor poorer. Hence their attack on public services, all because these are services used by people on the lower side of the economic spectrum. The police are the only public service safe from the Tories' wrath.
Since 2010, they have not only drastically cut funding to public services but made several attempts to discredit public sector workers with the help of the mainstream media. Research from 2019 found that the Tories have cut health and education spending by £37.3 billion since 2010. Considering that was 3 years ago, that number is sure to have grown. The year 2010 was the beginning of what seems to be a never-ending period of austerity, where all public services saw their funding decimated.
The Institute for Government found that:
Local councils saw their funding go from £41bn to £26bn from 2010 to 2020
Spending on Youth Services saw a £1.1 billion cut in funding over a decade
The list goes on.
The latest and most profound victim of the Tories' wake of destruction has been the NHS, which is in a dire situation. The British Medical Association found that as of October 2022, a record high of almost 7.21 million people waiting for treatment. While The Times reported that “A&E delays are killing up to 500 people a week’”.
For years there have been talks of the Tories wanting to privatise the NHS, but most people thought they would do it in a more obvious manner - by selling it. However, what the Tories seem to be doing instead is making the NHS inaccessible by running it into the ground, giving people no other option but to go private if they want health care.
It can’t be denied that COVID-19 put a massive strain on the NHS but it also can’t be denied that between 2010-2020 the NHS budget only rose by 1.5% per year, in comparison to its usual average of 3.3% per year. Then there’s the government’s near refusal to meet with union leaders to discuss a pay rise for NHS staff.
Talking of strikes, following several months of strikes all across the public sector from Royal Mail to the NHS, the government finally responded. Not by awarding key workers the pay rise they deserve but instead with the possible introduction of anti-strike legislation. Yes, yet another attack on our democratic rights. As if banning protests wasn’t enough with the Police, Crime Sentencing and Courts Act.
If the new bill becomes law then public services could be required to “deliver minimum safety levels during strikes and allow employers to enforce them.”
Many right-wing supporters may want to argue that our public sector workers have seen a pay rise over the last decade, even in instances where that is the case, it is important to note two things:
If a pay rise is not in line with inflation it is a pay cut.
MPs saw their wages increase by 28%, while nurses only saw a 19& pay rise, despite being key workers.
The only public sector service that does not seem to have been impacted by these absurd cuts, is the police. Funding for police in England and Wales as shown by the ONS has gone from £19.3 billion in 2009/10 to £24.9 billion in 2021/22. Yet despite the increase in funding, statistics show that more Britons are unconfident than confident in police to deal with crime locally.
So in times when youth crime is on the rise, the government has decided the logical thing to do is to cut funding from youth services and increase police funding, effectively putting more police on the streets. The Tories are so out of touch that they fail to realise in cases like this the important thing is to invest in the community and not try to constrain them.
Over the last 10 years, the Conservative government has made several promises to improve public services but their actions have time and time again continued to not match their words.
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