The New Dark Age

1 July 2015 — 38 Degrees

38 Degrees members are clubbing together for huge newspaper ads shaming George Osborne into ditching the cuts to child tax credits. But we haven’t yet raised enough to get in the papers this Friday. Please click here to chip in £3 now:
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/child-tax-credits-chip-in 

“I don’t know how I’ll put food on the table for my boys if this cut goes ahead. That’s the scariest thought of all”. This is Jeanne, a single mum and 38 Degrees member from Milton Keynes.

Next week, George Osborne wants to take money away from her two children, and thousands more across the UK. If he gets his way, the UK’s poorest families won’t have the money they need for school uniforms, healthy food, or rent. [1]

We’ve got seven days to stop him – so here’s the plan. If enough of us chip in, we can splash adverts all over the newspapers this Friday.The ads show Jeanne and Nicola: mums who are trying to do the best for their kids, but who’d be hit hard by these cuts.

The government is split. Politicians are terrified of bad press, and they’re desperate to keep stories like Jeanne’s out of the papers. Seeing her story in newspapers like The Daily Telegraph, where the government normally gets positive coverage, is the last thing Osborne wants.

We can prove that public opinion is turning against him – and that could force him to drop these awful plans. Please can you chip in a few pounds to get these ads into the papers? If thousands of us donate £3 now, we can get in the papers this Friday:
 

38 Degrees members stand up for fairness and compassion. Taking money away from kids in poverty isn’t fair or compassionate – that’s why 270,000 of us have already signed the petition against these cuts.

Government spin-doctors are trying their best to control this story. But there are millions of us. Let’s stop these cuts together.

Thanks for being involved,

Bex, David, Laura and the 38 Degrees team

PS: Since we started our huge petition, countless 38 Degrees members are sharing why these tax credits make all the difference to their families. [4] One 38 Degrees member, Nicola, agreed to share her story on video to expose George Osborne’s plan. You can watch her video here.

Please chip in £3 to get stories like Nicola’s in the newspapers now:
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/child-tax-credits-chip-in

NOTES:
[1] ITV: Tax credits explained: What are they, and what might happen to them?
http://www.itv.com/news/2015-06-22/tax-credits-explained-what-are-they-and-what-might-happen-to-them/
Mirror: Tax credits cuts: How changes to working family benefits could affect you:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/money/working-child-tax-credit-benefits-cuts-families-affected-5948302
[2] IFS: We estimate that this would increase relative child poverty by about 300,000:
http://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/7762 
[3] Telegraph: Boris Johnson attacks firm that use tax credits to keep pay down:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/david-cameron/11697680/Boris-Johnson-attacks-firm-that-use-tax-credits-to-keep-pay-down.html
Guardian: George Osborne under pressure to slow welfare cuts:
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/jun/11/george-osborne-pressure-slow-welfare-cuts
[4] 38 Degrees: George Osborne: No more kids in poverty. Please don’t cut child tax credit:
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/dont-cut-child-tax-credit