Some thoughts on the #minibudget2020 from a #stokie The government will cover 2/3 of the costs for sustainable home improvements with the homeowner covering the other 1/3. Almost 40% of S-o-T residents live in a rented home with approx half of this figure living in social

2. Housing. The example given was cavity wall and floor insulation at £4000 where the homeowner/tenant would have to pay £1300 of this. How does this help 40% of the population of S-o-T when a lot of tenants can’t even get their landlords to make timely NEEDED repairs to their

3. Homes? And this is assuming that they have the £1300 to contribute in the first place. To the majority of the families I know, £1300 is a fortune. Each employer will be given a ‘reward’ of £1000 for every furloughed employee it brings back to work after furlough.

4. What about the furloughed employee who has just survived the past 3 months on 80% of their pay? What do they get? What about the frontline workers who have been working throughout the pandemic. What about the student nurses who stepped up and are now left without

5. An income? But let’s reward big business right? So the rich get even richrer! A £10 discount for eating out. My maternity leave finished on the 05/06 so maternity allowance ended. My employer has no hours for me. Universal credit will be paid on the 26/07 and we don’t even

6. Know yet if that will reflect the loss of maternity allowance. We’ll be told this on the 22/07. So for almost 8 weeks we have lost more than 25% of our income. During this time our insurance increased, our gas and electricity increased,

7. Our children grew. And the best the government can do is £10 off eating out. Eating out for the majority of the families that I work with is a luxury that they haven’t experienced for many years. Eating out for us is a luxury and we are in a better position that most.

8. Why not use that money to improve the UC system so that families can afford to eat out? Or can just afford to feed their children healthy food rather than the budget items a lot of families rely on? Stamp-duty holidays and an increase in the zero rate band. Who is

9. Buying houses now? And who can afford to buy houses valued at approx £500k? That would buy you a mansion in Stoke. Again I can’t see how this would help many stokies particularly when the housing market is having its worst year in recent times. A reduction in VAT in the

10. Hospitality industry. Again, business owners can choose whether to reduce the price of their products or just pocket the extra cash. How does this help employees or the lower classes of society if they do decide to pocket the extra cash? It doesn’t!

11. There’s no point to this thread really other than a mother’s anger at the continued failings of the govt! My only hope is that they are actually going to introduce more to help lower class people, I won’t hold my breath! #ihatethetories #sot #local #minibudget #motherhood