Cuts Will Worsen One of the Worst Places in Europe

That the Parliament notes with dismay that, according to uSwitch.com’s Quality of Life Index, the United Kingdom is one of the worst places to live in Europe in 2010, with relatively low investment in health and education, the highest prices for food and diesel, more time spent in the office per week and disposable income falling behind that of residents of other countries; notes that this survey has been published just as the UK Government is proposing what is considered to be a regressive rise in VAT and massive cuts to public spending; believes that such cuts can only worsen the quality of life for most UK citizens; welcomes, however, what it considers to be positive signals from Liberal Democrat members of the coalition with regard to clamping down on tax cheats and scrapping nuclear weapons, and believes that a rigorous approach to tax avoidance, evasion and non-payment and eliminating the UK’s nuclear arsenal offers a more positive and economically logical way to tackle the public deficit.