Vote For Cuts, Get The Cuts

We the undersigned demand that in the interests of fairness, equality and social justice that the loyal Conservative boroughs, who voted for austerity and cuts to services on 7th May 2015 should have the honour of bearing the brunt of the £12bn worth proposed for the next five years. In the 2010-15 parliamentary term the inner cities and Labour voting areas suffered much more severe cuts than wealthier Conservative and Liberal Democrat constituencies, especially those with ministerial MPs.

We further demand that the disparities of the previous term (2010-15) be overturned in this process over the next five years. There is a proposal for devolution of fiscal powers to the regions of England, but if the cuts continue at the same level as the previous five years, inner city areas may fall into irreversible economic decline, with no help on offer from central government. These areas have also given their fair share to the Treasury over the past five years, and this needs levelling up.

Whilst this all appears disgracefully partisan and could be construed as an effort to garner votes, it would nonetheless undoubtedly have had an effect on the outcome of the election. So those who voted with clear understanding of the overall economic plan for the next five years, should now proudly accept their responsibility to shoulder their fair share of austerity cuts for the good of the nation, as they have displayed clear and open support for the proposed cuts to public services through a democratic process.

Cutting services to a greater extent in Labour voting areas overlooks another glaring fact. Many people in those areas voted Conservative in both 2010 and 15. If these decisions are partisan and punitive as they appear to be, the many voters who remained loyal to the now incumbent government throughout are suffering cuts to their local services regardless. Fairness, justice and democracy are supposedly British values, and whether or not the disparities in the allocation of austerity measures have been deliberately implemented as an attack on Labour voters in England, this approach is quite simply unfair and undemocratic.

By 2020 the Conservative long term economic plan will be complete and the UK will have made a complete recovery and will have "put a bit aside for a rainy day". It would be a shame for all of their most loyal supporters if they hadn't been given the opportunity to fully be a part of that economic recovery. So it's time to roll up your sleeves and do your bit for a brighter future for Britain. Those of us in the inner cities have done our bit, but we're with you all the way. We're all in this big society together! Right?

Graphic of local government budget cuts 11/12 (Looks uncannily like the election outcome in 2015) http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2010/dec/14/local-council-cuts-data

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jan/30/local-government-cuts-poorest-areas

*(Footnote for potential signers: Signing the petition does not necessarily mean that you agree with, or believe in the proposed austerity measures. The campaign is more an attempt to undermine the basic austerity premise that the country is skint, and that we all need to do our bit to help. This is a challenge to the government and their supporters to justify themselves, and bring this question of fairness into the public domain, and hopefully go some way to unravelling the austerity myth for all to see clearly.)