I can’t believe any previous Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) in Britain has attracted as much interest from Australia as this one. Of course every day in Britain headlines have screamed austerity and pain and to some extent Australian’s have looked on with relief (occasionally smugly) as their country not only escaped recession but also its lingering hangover. But the interest is not just voyeuristic, it is also tinged with some genuine concern about how a country they know (and to some extent love) will emerge from the cuts and for some interest groups, such as British pensioners living in Australia, whether this marks a significant turning point in their campaign for fair treatment.
It seems there is no question in anyone’s mind that the UK budget deficit needed to be tackled. But in many ways the Conservative/Liberal Coalition have accepted Gordon Brown’s paradigm that spending levels can of themselves solve problems. The challenge will come if this proves to be a trap that stifles innovation, growth, creativity and the much coveted desire for fairness.
On the subject of fairness British pensioners in countries where the pension is frozen have felt a great injustice for many years. In relation to the CSR, they have also been shut out of the national debate, for their concerns are now trumped by millions of people living in Britain. British overseas pensioners have always struggled to be heard, but there is now a cacophony of noisy protest from people on the ground about the impact of the recent cuts.
By ignoring British pensioners overseas the British Government may have missed a trick. The International Consortium of British Pensioners (ICBP) is arguing the case that up rating frozen pensions would actually lead to a £31 billion plus saving to the British economy over the next 15 years. I know it may sound counter intuitive but the logic of their case is extremely compelling. Research conducted by ICBP and Age UK shows that many more pensioners in Britain, deterred now from migrating by the frozen pension, would move to countries where the pension is currently frozen, if this pension policy was reversed. This would lead to savings in Britain in health care costs, social care and other social security benefits. In the chorus of cuts, creative solutions around fixing problems of fairness seem to have been lost.
I suppose the question I am left with is how many other perfectly reasonable, creative and even innovative solutions have been overlooked as a result of the mantra of cuts. There is a danger for Britain that if the framework for operations for the next few years is around cuts rather than change, regression rather than progression, that great opportunities will pass the nation by. Perhaps it’s not too late to define the new era, create a new mindset and give new energy to creativity and innovation. But the rhetoric of cuts as well as the extent of them, can lead us to know the price of everything, the value of nothing and to construct a framework that reduces the enterprising dynamic of a future economy.
Return to the Expat home page
