FOLLOWING calls by Southport’s Lib Dem, Labour and former Labour councillors for higher taxes on local residents and businesses to fund the scrapping of the 2 child benefit cap, Conservative Group Leader on Sefton Council, Mike Prendergast, has set out why Conservatives on Sefton Council previously voted against such a move and don’t believe it’s the right thing to do in future.
Councillor Prendergast said:- "We all want to see children lifted out of poverty but you cannot tax poverty away or raise living standards by taking more of the money that people earn off them. The way to tackle child poverty and improve living standards is to grow our economy and create more of the high paying high skilled jobs that we need in our local area. I know it may shock some of our Lib Dem and Labour colleagues to hear this, but not every problem can be solved by more taxes. The estimated £3 billion cost of the measure, if it went ahead, would fall on the shoulders of hard working people across the country, including people and businesses here in Southport. The benefits system is there as a safety net but it is not the job of the state to pay for every child. While the state has a role to play in providing that safety net in difficult times, it’s ultimately the job of parents to provide for their children. Supporting wealth creation and growth is the key to increasing prosperity and alleviating child poverty, not more tax. Across Southport and the wider area we have a wealth of talent and potential and we shouldn’t stymie that with a tax raid to pay more benefits. There are certainly conversations to be had, by politicians at all levels, about making the tax system more family friendly, rewarding hard work with lower taxes and improving access to high quality childcare but simply advocating that people pay more tax to pay more benefits is not the answer. As Conservatives, we will be advocating for growth in our local economy and, unlike local Lib Dem and Labour councillors, we won’t be supporting any calls to increase the tax burden on local families and businesses to pay more benefits."
