Philip Hammond’s budget speech included a package of ‘support for women’ [Image: Mark Duffy/PA].

Critics, please take note – in fact, bookmark this article: Women are suffering more than 17/20 of the burden of austerity.

And no, you can’t say Philip Hammond has taken steps to rectify this, because changes announced by George Osborne have yet to take effect.

Labour has urged the Conservatives to carry out a gender audit of its tax and spending policies, as the shadow equalities minister, Sarah Champion, published analysis showing that 86% of the burden of austerity since 2010 has fallen on women.

Champion said research carried out by the House of Commons library revealed that women were paying a “disproportionate” price for balancing the government’s books.

The analysis is based on tax and benefit changes since 2010, with the losses apportioned to whichever individual within a household receives the payments.

In total, the analysis estimates that the cuts will have cost women a total of £79bn since 2010, against £13bn for men.

It shows that, by 2020, men will have borne just 14% of the total burden of welfare cuts, compared with 86% for women.

The chancellor, Philip Hammond, highlighted a £30m package of “support for women” in Wednesday’s budget.

It included: £20m to tackle domestic violence and abuse; £5m to fund events marking the centenary of women’s suffrage; and another £5m to fund “returnships” for parents who have been out of the workforce.

But many of the cuts announced in earlier years by former chancellor George Osborne, including a four-year freeze on many in-work benefits and reductions in the universal credit, are yet to bite.

Source: Women bearing 86% of austerity burden, Commons figures reveal | World news | The Guardian

Join the Vox Political Facebook page.

If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!

Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:

Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.

The Livingstone Presumption is now available
in either print or eBook format here:

Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:

The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here: