… and for Greece

Katy says:

The people of Greece have been asked to pay a huge price and suffer unbearable attacks on living standards over the past five years in order to bailout failed bankers. Greece’s bailout by the Troika of the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund has been to the tune of €254bn over the past five years but over 90% of that went to creditors including British, German and Dutch banks.

Attached to the bailout were conditions that have wrecked the Greek economy and resulted in social crisis. GDP remains 25% down on its 2009 figure and the impact on ordinary people has meant unemployment remains at around 26%, with youth unemployment still over 50%. Poverty has risen as pay and employment has been slashed. Public sector pay cuts have reportedly made up for around a tenth of austerity measures, a 10% pay cut was introduced in 2010 and in 2011 the minimum wage was cut by 22%. The decline of health services, spread of soup kitchens and the smell of woodfire as the cost of heating oil goes out of reach are well documented.

I have been involved in campaigning and arguing against austerity economics since the financial crisis came to a head in 2008. I am a Patron of the Greek Solidarity Campaign and have spoken at a number of events calling on the UK to support Greek debt relief and a moratorium of existing payments. Austerity economics hasn’t worked in Greece and this Government’s austerity politics aren’t working here. The success of Syriza has challenged that existing orthodoxy and the anti-austerity mood is spreading across Europe. I will continue to campaign for an investment based alternative in the United Kingdom.