So the government have belatedly discovered the merits of state intervention and investment to support the economy. But they're still desperately trying to resuscitate the old economy when the pandemic has shown we need fundamental change. A thread:
Exhibit A: subsidising employers to offer more of the same low-wage, insecure jobs that made us vulnerable to the pandemic in the first place. Instead, we need major public investment in good jobs doing things that matter - care, renewables - & a pay rise for key workers.
Exhibit B: stamp duty holidays for first time buyers. Madness when the key problems we're facing are massive accumulation of rent debt and cheap properties being snapped up by landlords. Instead, we should be helping renters & buying up cheap land/housing into common ownership.
Exhibit C: Johnson's bonfire of the planning rules. Truly terrifying stuff as @L__Macfarlane has highlighted. Allowing the Richard Desmonds of the world to build more luxury flats might make a few people very rich - it will do worse than nothing for most ordinary people.
Exhibit D: reintroducing benefit sanctions. The govt was forced to patch up our safety net during the pandemic and is now busily shredding it again. We need to be really wary of a narrative that says public spending is only justified on "productive" job-creating activity.
In summary: no, the Tories aren't stealing the left's clothes. They are throwing money at the problem to stave off the worst case scenario of mass unemployment. They aren't fixing the fundamentals and they won't stop the coming second wave of poverty, debt and homelessness.
We urgently need to shift our arguments from opposing austerity to arguing for the things that will truly shift wealth, power & ownership in our economy - away from landlords, developers & banks, towards the frontline workers & citizens who've got each other through this crisis.
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