New 'austerity drive' will increase racism, says Diane Abbott, as Labour faces union fight over winter fuel allowance
22 September 2024, 20:01 | Updated: 22 September 2024, 20:13
Diane Abbott has warned that a new 'austerity drive' will increase racism faced by ethnic minorities 'bearing the brunt of the Government’s attacks'.
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Speaking at a fringe meeting at the Labour Party conference on Sunday, the veteran Labour MP warned that the Government’s promise that “things will only get worse” presented a “grim outlook” for ethnic minorities in the UK.
“We are in a very difficult period," she said. "There is both a renewed war drive and a renewed austerity drive.
“Whenever either of these happens, they are always accompanied by an increase in racism. Now that both are happening simultaneously, black and Asian people in this country, as well as Muslims, are bearing the brunt of the Government attacks.”
Left-wing Labour MPs such as Ms Abbott have accused the Government of embarking on a renewed round of austerity as the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, seeks to impose spending restraint on Whitehall that has so far included the scrapping of winter fuel allowance for millions of pensioners.
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But the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer insisted during a reception at the start of the Labour conference that he would not return to the economic policies of previous Conservative administrations.
Sunday’s meeting, organised by the campaign group Stand Up To Racism, also heard from Labour National Executive Committee member Mish Rahman, who accused the new Government of contributing to a political climate that made this summer’s riots “inevitable”.
He said: “Starmer’s Labour seems to have embraced the current debate by contributing throwing its own fuel onto the bin fire by promising their own blitz on illegal immigration.”
Accusing the Labour leadership of adopting right-wing rhetoric, he said: “Our fear now is seriously what (Nigel) Farage says today, the Tories will say tomorrow, and Labour may legislate the day after.”
Both Ms Abbott and Mr Rahman, along with other speakers, called on Labour members to press the Government to do more to combat racism in the wake of the summer’s riots.
Amid the party's conference, Labour faces a battle over cuts to winter fuel payments as trade unions push for the policy to be reversed.
Delegates to the party’s annual conference in Liverpool are expected to debate Labour’s economic plans on Monday, with the decision to remove winter fuel payments from 10 million pensioners set to feature.
The exact wording of the motion delegates will vote on will be determined on Sunday night, but trade unions Unite and the Communication Workers Union have put forward proposals calling for the policy to be scrapped.
Unite has already unveiled billboards around Liverpool with the slogan “Defend the winter fuel payment” and plans to stage a demonstration outside the conference centre ahead of the debate on Monday.
The union’s general secretary Sharon Graham described the policy as “cruel” and a “misstep”, while Matt Wrack, the head of the Fire Brigades Union, said it was a “politically inept” decision that would “haunt” the Government for years.
Restricting winter fuel payments to only the poorest pensioners has put the Government at odds with the unions as the Chancellor attempts to fill what she claims is a £22 billion “black hole” in this year’s budget left by the Conservatives.
But Tory shadow ministers insist there was no “black hole” and the Government is merely preparing the ground for tax rises when Ms Reeves announces her first Budget on October 30.
Both the Unite and CWU motions include call for the winter fuel payments to be restored to all pensioners, but address wider economic policy as well.
Unite’s motion calls for a wealth tax on the richest 1 per cent of people and other changes to the tax regime that the Government has so far been keen to avoid.
The motion said: “Britain cannot wait for growth, nor turn back to failed austerity.“We need a vision where pensioners are not the first to face a new wave of cuts and those that profited from decades of deregulation finally help to rebuild Britain.”
Both unions also called for reform of the Government’s fiscal rules to allow more borrowing to invest in public services and infrastructure, something the Chancellor has also faced pressure to do in order to kickstart economic growth.
But Ms Reeves has been adamant that her fiscal rules are non-negotiable, saying she must demonstrate tight control over the public finances.
Monday will also see the Chancellor deliver her first conference speech since entering Number 11 after the party’s first day in Liverpool saw speeches from Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
