Jul 3rd, 2015
Child tax credit: Ads in national papers
By Rebecca Falcon
“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.
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.
Osborne wants to cut child tax credits. It’s the support that goes to low-paid families to make sure they can buy essentials like school uniforms or healthy food. For as long as the government lets employers get away with paying low wages, tax credits help make sure that no child has to grow up in poverty. Experts say that these cuts would push 300,000 children below the breadline.
The cracks are already showing in the government’s plans. A growing number of Conservatives – including Boris Johnson – are starting to speak out against this dangerous cut. Just imagine the frantic phone calls in Westminster when politicians get wind of our ads all over the papers.
Buying adverts together is a huge show of strength. It proves that thousands of us care enough to put our money where our mouth is. It will cost around £50,000 to buy full-page ads in newspapers like the Daily Telegraph and The Sun – the papers that are normally on George Osborne’s side. If 5,000 of us chip in a tenner today, we can book the adverts. Please can you chip in now?
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.
Since we started our huge petition, countless 38 Degrees members are sharing why these tax credits make all the difference to their families. 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.
