Stoke-on-Trent West Labour Labour in Basford, Boothen, Cliffe Vale, Harpfields, Hartshill, Oakhill, Penkhull, Springfields, Stoke, Trent Vale and West End
We’re paying the price of austerity
Last week our MP Gareth Snell asked the Prime Minister in the House of Commons to respond to the findings of a recent report on the crisis facing Stoke-on-Trent.
The newly released Hardship Commission report into Stoke-on-Trent highlights inequality in income, education and employment as the drivers behind poverty in our city. The report sets out the devastating social, emotional and financial impacts that living in hardship can have.
We can all see the tragic effects of austerity on our city and the impact on our communities.
It is shocking to see how your postcode can affect the quality and length of your life. A man living in Boothen & Oak Hill has a life expectancy of 74.5 years, while a man in Penkhull & Stoke can expect to live to 77.5. It’s not fair that people living in a more deprived area can expect to live for 3 years less than their friends down the road.
Unfortunately, but as expected, the Prime Minister did not offer any solutions. The government is out of touch with the needs and struggles of the people of Stoke-on-Trent.
A Labour government would sort out the chaos of universal credit. We would invest in the economy to provide better paid, permanent jobs in the city. We would fund our schools and colleges properly. We would raise the national living wage for people aged under 25 and start to deal with the root causes of poverty.