Meacher fears street protests

Oldham West and Royton MP Michael Meacher fears people will take to the streets in protest when the severity of the cuts are realised.

He said: "These cuts are being done against a backdrop of high unemployment and when international economies are weak.

“It is positively suicidal and reckless. I will take time for the full extend of the announcement to come to light. I think there will be a reaction of anger and bewilderment when the details come out and impact of job losses are felt.

“The British people will not take this sitting down and I think they will take to the streets in protest once the information between the lines emerge."

Mr Meacher’s Oldham East and Saddleworth counterpart Phil Woolas said: “In Oldham, we will see a surge in unemployment as public-sector workers lose their jobs.
“But even our most successful private-sector companies will struggle to increase jobs at all let alone by more than enough to compensate.

"There is no doubt that this statement does jeopardise our economy and confidence will plummet. Post industrial towns like Oldham will inevitably suffer worse than elsewhere. I recognise that the Chancellor has a very difficult job to do and it is true that cuts would have been necessary if Labour had been in power

“The cause of the deficit is the severe fall in revenues to the Exchequer over the past two years significantly due to the fall in tax paid by the banks and by the increase in unemployment leading to less tax being paid.