An Open Statement from We Are the Economy
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Since free education was introduced in England and Wales in 1880, we have understood that an educated population is essential for a strong economy. Over the subsequent decades politicians recognised that the same is true for good health, housing and connectivity, and so invested in essential public services like the NHS, social homes and public transport.
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What’s good for us individually is good for the economy, this is because we are the economy. The economy is the sum total of our work, purchases and social interactions. When we are in ill health, poorly educated, living in precarious, poor quality housing, or unable to get around due to poor transport links, there are not only incalculable costs to physical and mental wellbeing; we also are less productive. Public services are essential for a strong economy because, in addition to making our lives better, they support all of us to function well. That is why we are calling on the Chancellor to use this budget to invest in the essential public services we all rely on. Universally accessible housing, transport, education, and healthcare are not just ‘nice to haves’, they are essential for a thriving society, a resilient economy - and for achieving our carbon reduction targets.
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A sustained failure to invest in adequate social housing is pushing more and more people into homelessness, ill health and poverty. Investment in social housing has fallen by 60% leading to a net loss of 165,000 social homes since 2010 - whilst homelessness has increased by 74% in the same period. The ‘societal costs’ of exposure to poor housing - which include loss of economic potential and the cost of physical and mental health treatments - are estimated at £18.5bn per year. Given that 15% of the UK's carbon emissions come directly from homes, the UK's failure to make existing homes more energy efficient through insulation and renewable heating systems is a huge missed opportunity. Retrofitting would create green jobs, ensure millions more people are warmer and healthier in their homes, and lower energy bills and emissions.
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Failure to invest in transport has contributed significantly to regional inequality. The North received 19% less funding per person on transport infrastructure than the UK average and 60% less than London. This has a significant impact on connectivity, with those in the South being able to access up to seven times as many jobs by public transport as those in the North. This disparity embeds unemployment - and the social harms it causes - in those regions most in need. At the same time, private vehicles contribute to 88% of all transport emissions, whilst public transport contributes only 4%. A comprehensive public transport system will pay for itself in connectivity and job creation and is fundamental to a green transition. We need significant public investment now.
2.5 million people are now unable to work due to long term sickness, and NHS waiting lists are at an all time high of 7.6 million people. This coincides with a decade-long shortfall in healthcare spending as a proportion of GDP. However, poor public health is not only due to underinvestment in health services over the past decade. It is also the result of falling investment in things that keep us well and active such as good housing, leisure centres, transport links and parks.
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For the last 13 years, politicians have repeatedly claimed that we simply can’t afford to invest in essential services such as care, education and housing. This is a wilful misunderstanding of economics and a failure to take the action necessary to start building a truly sustainable economy. In industry it is an obvious fact that if you want to boost business it is essential to invest in productive capacity. The same is true of an economy. But short-term thinking has created the economic ‘doom loop’ that we now find ourselves in - where we are told we cannot invest because we can’t afford it, and not investing weakens our economy further.
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We’ve watched austerity and underinvestment erode the foundations of our society for far too long. Now, with millions living in poverty whilst wealth at the top soars, and in the midst of a deepening climate emergency, we can’t afford to keep going down the same track. We can’t afford not to invest in the collective services that will generate more value than they cost, keep us well, and our planet habitable. The Chancellor should use this budget to invest in the lifeblood of our society - our essential services - that will improve our lives, reboot our economy, and help us meet our legally obligated climate targets.
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To add your signature to the We Are The Economy campaign Open Statement, please email maeve@socialguarantee.org with your name, position and organisation.
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Signatories
Ann Pettifor - Director - PRIME Economics
Kate E Pickett, OBE - Professor of Epidemiology - University of York
Kate Raworth - Economists and co-founder - Doughnut Economics Action Labs
Johnathon Porritt - Sustainability Campaigner and Author
Danny Dorling - Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography - University of Oxford
Stewart Lansley - Visiting Fellow - University of Bristol
Neal Lawson - Director - Compass
Nadia Whittome MP - Member of Parliament for Nottingham East
Sir Tom Shakespeare - Professor of Disability Research - London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Caroline Lucas MP - Member of Parliament for Brighton Pavilion
Professor Ian Gough - CASE Visiting Senior Fellow - London School of Economics
Professor Diane Elson - Emeritus Professor - University of Essex
Prof Diego Sánchez-Ancochea - Professor of the Political Economy of Development - University of Oxford
Professor Susan Himmelweit - Emeritus Professor of Economics - Open University
Priya Sahni-Nicholas - Co-Executive Director - The Equality Trust
Jo Wittams - Co-Executive Director - The Equality Trust
Mary-Ann Stevenson - Director - Women's Budget Group
Cat Hobbs - Founder and Director - We Own It
Sarah Longlands - Chief Executive - Centre for Local Economic Strategies
Professor Rebecca Tunstall - Professor Emerita of Housing Policy - University of York
Baroness (Ruth) Lister of Burtersett - Member of the House of Lords
Jerome De-Henau - Senior Lecturer in Economics - Open University
Mathew Lawrence - Director - Common Wealth
Tom Schuller - Chair - Prisoner Learning Alliance
Anna Coote - Project Director - The Social Guarantee
Maeve Cohen - Project Lead - The Social Guarantee
Hannah Peaker - Director of Policy and Advocacy - New Economics Foundation
Michael Jacobs - Professor of Political Economy - University of Sheffield
Niall Glynn - Founder and Leader - Working Class Economists Group
Robert Palmer - Executive Director - Tax Justice UK
Colin Hines - Convenor - The Green New Deal Group
Professor Richard Murphy - Professor of Accounting Practice - Sheffield University Management School
Professor Simon Mohun - Emeritus Professor of Political Economy - Queen Mary University of London
Jonquil Lowe - Senior Lecturer in Economics and Personal Finance - Open University
Dr Deborah Dean - Co-Director of the Industrial Relations Research Unit - University of Warwick
Dr Manuela Galetto - Co-Director of the Industrial Relations Research Unit - University of Warwick
Jackie Longworth - Chair, Fair Play South West - The Women's Equality Network
Frances Rayner - Comms Lead - Wellbring Economy Alliance
Andrew Simms - Co-Director - New Weather Institute
Clive Lewis MP - Member of Parliament for Norwich South
Will Snell - Chief Executive - Fairness Foundation
Sarah-Jane Clifton - Executive Director - Economic Change Unit
Dr Ellie Chows - Green MP candidate for North Herefordshire
Sian Berry - Green Party member of the London Assembly
Antonia Jennings - Chief Executive Officer - Centre for London
Ania Płomień - Associate Professor - London School of Economics
Carla Denyer - Co-Leader of the Green Party
Will Stronge - Director of Research Autonomy
Dr Muhammad Ali Nasir - Associate Professor in Economics - Leeds University Business School
Leslie Huckfield - Visiting Fellow - Glasgow Caledonian University
Dr Beth Stratford - Housing Researcher and Author
Malcolm Sawyer - Emeritus Professor of Economics - University of Leeds
Dr. Nikolaos Karagiannis - Professor of Economics - Winston-Salem State University
Dr Su Maddock - Chair - Be Buckfastleigh CIC
Cyrus Bina - Professor Emeritus of Economics - University of Minnesota
Prof Suzanne J Konzelmann - Professor of Economics - Birkbeck, University of London
Professor Sergio Rossi - Chair of Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - University of Fribourg
Rabbi Elli Tikvah Sarah - Rabbi Emeritus - Brighton and Hove Progressive Synagogue
Judith Heyer - Emeritus Fellow in Economics - Somerville College, Oxford
Dr Phil Armstrong - Associate - Gower Initiative first Modern Money Studies
Stefan Zylinski - PhD Researcher - University of Bristol
Fran Boait - Co-Executive Director - Positive Money
Caroline Lucas MP - Member of Parliament for Brighton Pavilion
Dr Neil Lancaster - Senior Lecturer in Economics - De Montfort University
The Rt Revd Dr Pete Wilcox - Bishop of Sheffield - Church of England
The Venerable Javaid Iqbal - Archdeacon of Doncaster - Church of England
The Venerable David Picken - Archdeacon of Lancaster - Church of England
Venerable Malcolm Chamberlain - Archdeacon of Sheffield & Rotherham - Church of England
Bridget Knapper - Director - Economy for the Common Good
Professor Jean Luc de Meulemeester - Professor in the Department of Economic and Financial History - Université libre de Bruxelles
Jeremy Smith - Co-director - Policy Research in Macroeconomics (PRIME)
Hugh Burkhardt - Emeritus Professor of Mathematical Education - University of Nottingham
Dr. Katharine Sutton - Director - Aspire Community Works
Aileen McLeod - Interim Director - Wellbeing Economy Alliance Scotland