People across North Durham tell me that the Labour Party that has governed for the past 13 years isn't the Labour Party that they grew up with. Since 1997, the economic gap between the North East and other regions has grown. In the past 2 and a half years, unemployment has increased by 140% in North Durham. In the same time, the gap between rich and poor has widened and social mobility has stalled. Manufacturing industry has been weakened, while the Labour Government was busy unbalancing the economy in favour of super rich bankers in the City.
I have already written about the obscene reward packages in the banking sector. This is particularly obscene given that bankers still owe the taxpayer money for rescuing the banks from their folly.
There are also other elements of unfairness and inequality in society that a Government must address. One of these is the discrepancy in public sector pay, with the people at the top of public sector organisations being paid a ludicrous amount out of the public purse and a multiple considerably higher than the lowest paid people in that organisation. This kind of unfairness and inequality needs to change.
That is why the pay of public sector chiefs should be linked to the lowest paid person within their organisation. That is why David Cameron announced today that a Fair Pay Review will be established to consider pay inequality in the public sector. The Fair Pay Review will be asked to introduce a pay multiple so that no public sector boss can earn over twenty times more than the lowest paid person in their organisation.
The country has become less fair and less equal under a Labour Government. It is time to take some steps to create a society that is fairer and more equal.
Please feel free to leave comments. If you want to donate to the campaign for change in North Durham, you can do so via the following link: http://tinyurl.com/y9whlnx
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