Austerity is a myth.

I've only just got to this thread, a pity, because I very much agree with Parliament100.
I want to comment on the suspension of the Brighton Labour party over Corbyn supporters being elected. Before this election, the Brighton LP was so far to the right it was embarrassing. When the Greens held the Council, despite the fact that Green policies are much nearer Labour than Tory, the Labour group got into bed with the Tories to try to keep anyone else out of their cosy 2-party arrangement. It doesn't surprise me that there has been a backlash, given the popularity of Jeremy in the country as a whole.

Found the report...

daccess-ods.un.org/TMP/1517004.96673584.html

The recommendations are:

• ensure that the potential repeal of the Human Rights Act does not lower human rights protections, and that any new Bill of Rights enhances the status of economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR);
• only take measures in the context of economic and financial crisis that are temporary, necessary, proportionate, non-discriminatory and that and such measures do not undercut the core minimum content of any ESCR;
• conduct a comprehensive assessment of the cumulative impact of these measures on the enjoyment of ESCR;
• review the impact of reforms to the legal aid system to ensure access to justice in particular for disadvantaged and marginalised individuals and groups including employment tribunal fees;
• bring into force section 1 of the Equality Act 2010 which sets out the duty of certain public authorities to have due regard to the desirability of reducing socio-economic disadvantage when taking strategic decisions about how to exercise their functions;
• address root causes for groups disproportionately affected by unemployment, and reduce the use of temporary employment, precarious self-employment and zero-hours contracts
• reconsider reductions in protections brought about through the Welfare Reform Act 2012 and the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 and restore the link between the rates of state benefits and the cost of living; and
• ensure the effective implementation of the duties under the Health and Social Care Act 2012 to reduce inequalities in access to healthcare and allocate sufficient resources to the mental health sector.

I don't disagree with any of those recommendations. It's not a bad thing that a third party is used to monitor human rights without party political spin.

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@Jalima

The UN is divided into all sorts of sub-divisions. Just because it's not doing well in some areas doesn't invalidate the report.

The point is that the UK is signed up to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), but is failing to deliver on some if the conditions (as, I suspect, some other countries are).

The UK doesn't have to be signed up - the US isn't. However, if the UK wants to be seen to be upholding human rights, it should be doing so in reality - and isn't.

PS. Am looking for the actual report.

Have to agree Parliament100. I do not think history will laud Thatcher in the way that she was when she was in power. The carapace is already cracking and the vote out of Europe may be seen to be more about a vote against Thatcherism, neo-capitalism and ideological austerity when time has passed and we can look back and view it dispassionately.

I really cannot take headlines like this Government austerity policy a breach of international human rights, says UN report seriously when the United Nations is failing so miserably in so many areas, notably the refugee crisis, Syria, Iraq, Chad, you name it etc etc etc
how much did that report cost to produce

I'll search them out, thanks for the tip!

Ha-Joon Chang is the one worth listening to. I know that he and some other economists are trying to educate 'ordinary people' about economics, because there are so many myths. He's done some great videos on YouTube, if you haven't already seen them.

I'm not sure if anyone has already linked to these but I will do so anyway as it's important.

Austerity breaches human rights

The austerity delusion - Paul Krugman

Just watching the Owen Jones clip now :0)

www.theguardian.com/business/video/2016/aug/11/owen-jones-talks-to-ha-joon-chang-austerity-is-based-on-lies-video-interview

Here is a complete one.

Only percentages as well. The size of the state is 100%. Do not think so.

Parliament, That table doesn't show all state spending. It only shows welfare spending. I'm not sure what point you're trying to make.

This is the size of the State.

What is austerity?

www.economist.com/blogs/buttonwood/2015/05/fiscal-policy

JessM, What we have had in power since Thatcher is not Conservatism, it is right wing Torysm.

Aside from that, your response to my original post is spot on.

The Agenda since Thatcher has been to roll back the State in an ideological agenda to wipe away all the Social reforms that were built up by the Labour Government after WW2, and the Tory's have been using the deficit as a cover to achieve their right wing agenda. And your last sentence is also bang on.

I think the OP sentiment is not very clearly expressed.
If trying to argue that Osborne's austerity is a smoke-screen for pursuing the conservative agenda of "rolling back the state" I agree. And that Blair in some respects supported this agenda, although in a far less draconian form. Why roll back the state? Well either because you think the country had gone too far in the direction of looking after all citizens, including the poor, aged and vulnerable. Or because you want to reduce taxes for the weathier citizens. Or both.
Anyone else noticed that the Tory favourite word "reform" has now morphed into "modernisation"? Of course they both mean "cuts and privatisation"

Agreed Anya and can't believe P100 believes differently.

P100 historically the Tories were always the party of the right. Thatcher is modern history.

thatbags, It was Thatcher who in 1979 took the party to the right. And there it has stayed.

If you'd ever heard my father talking politics, P100, you'd have realised that some people thought that about the Tories long before Thatcher.

I'll say again Austerity is just a media tag, the reality is that since Thatcher the right wing Tory's have initiated an ideological attack on all the social improvements built up by the Labour Government after WW2, and what's worse Thatcher, Cameron, and Osborne have got away with it..

What we are witnessing since the 80's is a dwindling State.

The parliament that is based in England at Westminster is the UK Parliament.

There's no such thing as an English Parliament.

I hope that parliament100 has also noticed them, Jalima and no longer feels that there is a gap that needs to be filled.