IT would be churlish not to welcome the Prime Minister’s announcement of the end of austerity and the dawn of a secure future for the many thousands living on precarious wages or in insecure homes, and those with disabilities who face the deeply flawed Work Capability Assessment regime.

In the PM’s Observer article (October 7) she wrote security for families and the country, freedom under the rule of law and opportunity for everyone ‘can unite our people and help build a better future for our country’. Well, yes.

But how did we get here? Contrary to the Government’s repeated claim, the economy was recovering from the global banking crisis by 2010.

It was a Tory/Lib Dem coalition that ignored Keynesian lessons, choosing instead to strangle the recovery with the harsh and lengthy austerity project that has starved public bodies of resources and continues to hit the poorest hardest.

With great fanfare they then launched their so-called ‘Red Tape Bonfire’, removing hard-won safeguards against civil rights abuses while slashing Legal Aid so that many thousands of people with limited resources no longer have to access justice.

For an encore, Government rhetoric and actions engineered a ‘hostile environment’, not just for those who look or sound ‘foreign’ but also for anyone in need of support from a welfare state which is itself under severe attack.

Now, with the end of austerity supposedly in sight, perhaps our MP can tell us when to expect justice for the many in Taunton Deane who are denied it under the seriously discredited Universal Credit system?

How soon will Somerset’s local authorities regain the many millions of pounds cut from their government grants, and rebuild our services?

READ MORE: Somerset County Council approves millions in cuts

When will we see the return of proper community policing?

How soon will our schools have the resources they need to do the best job they can for our children?

And when can we expect to see our councils using their borrowing powers to build the secure council homes so badly needed

Investment in good public services is not a profligate use of taxpayers’ money (the poorest are paying taxes through VAT and Council Tax). It’s the glue that holds the country and communities together and keeps us safe.

It’s an investment we make to support our health and wellbeing, to create opportunities for young people, and to prevent unnecessary life crises and suffering.

It’s not ‘extremist’ to want and expect such things, or to call on the wealthiest and the tax avoiders to pay a proportionate share.

It’s fair, it’s sensible and it’s long overdue.

BRENDA WESTON
Taunton