Shame: Tories have been a blight on the UK
Below are some things the Tories never promised in their manifesto, which voters may wish to bear in mind this week.
As 'achievements' go, it's a shameful list entirely in keeping with Tory values:
  • more than one in three children live in poverty - more than 4 million
  • national debt has risen £1,400,000,000,000 from £850bn to £2.25 trillion
  • UK government and policies condemned by UN for inflicting needless poverty and misery
  • 43,000 NHS nurse posts unfilled
  • student nurse bursary abolished
  • 5 million bed spaces per year gone
  • millions of cruel benefit sanctions
  • millions left with no funds - intentionally - through Universal Credit system
  • massive failed NHS privatisations
  • massive social care crisis
  • approximately 185,000 extra deaths linked to politically-driven austerity
  • 10,000 fewer medical professionals
  • 25,000 fewer bed spaces for mental illness
  • almost half of people claiming disability benefits have attempted suicide
  • food bank use up 2,400%
  • homelessness up 1,000%
  • rough sleeping up 1,200%
  • Bedroom Tax caused mass evictions
  • evictions running at record highs
  • massive cuts in school funding
  • student fees up 300%
  • student debt has risen 150%
  • forced academisation of schools against parents' wishes
  • 1,000 Sure Start centres closed
  • 780 libraries closed
  • 700 football pitches closed
  • removal of EMA (education maintenance allowance) for poor pupils
  • pound down appr. 15% versus EUR and USD
  • manufacturing in recession
  • construction in recession
  • services close to recession
  • 25-30% cuts to all govt departments
  • 25-30% cuts to all councils, mainly centred on Labour councils in poorer areas
  • half of councils close to bankruptcy
  • 21,000 fewer front-line police
  • 20,000 fewer prison officers
  • 10,000 fewer border officials
  • 10,000 fewer firefighters
  • OECD calculate 3 million hidden unemployed, rate is really 13%
  • mushrooming insecure work: temporary, self employed, gig economy and zero hours contracts
  • only 30k full time work positions created.
  • almost half of workers are in insecure work: self-employed, ZHC, or part-time 'precariat'
  • 80% of the 5.3 million self-employed live below the poverty line
  • more than 1 in 3 self-employed only earn £100 a month
  • 25% cuts for our disabled people
  • 80% cuts to Mobility Allowance.
  • Remploy closed
  • 40% of working households just one crisis away from destitution
  • 70% of households have less than 10k savings
  • 60% of households can only survive 2 months without a wage
  • household debt reaches new peak, despite emergency base rates
  • 50% increase in hate crimes
  • 150% increase in knife crime to 22,000 per year
  • teenage suicide up by 70%
  • suicides up 12% just in 2018
  • self-harm among young women up 70%
  • life-expectancy down - for first time in decades - by 3 years
  • lowest ever NHS satisfaction level
  • council-home building down 90%
  • 200k social homes lost
  • ZERO starter homes built, despite Tory flagship programme
  • council home-building down 90%
  • one million families on council home waiting list
  • 36,000 teachers have left the profession
  • multiple collapsed private rail franchises
  • collapsed building and maintenance giants leaving schools and hospitals in the lurch - that the government knew were coming and ignored
This is only a partial list. More will no doubt be added.
None of these things were mentioned by the Tories in their manifestos.
A vote for Boris Johnson is a vote for more of the same.
A vote for Labour is a vote for real change and a return to a decent country.
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