The past year has been a year of pain and great sacrifice for our communities. People lost income, jobs and their loved ones as the pandemic ripped through our communities. Despite being told we were all in it together, COVID 19 was not the great equaliser claimed, and, in fact, exacerbated already existing poverty and inequality.

In the midst of a pandemic that has caused so much hardship and pain - the Stormont Executive have responded with a budget that is insulting to everyone here. Stormont Ministers claim this is a “standstill “ budget but in reality it is one riddled with reductions in services that doesn’t meet the needs of a population emerging from a once in a generation crisis.

After ramming through punitive Tory welfare reforms, the draft DfC budget proposes to slash funding for frontline advice services while gutting tens of millions in funding for welfare support, homeless services and youth unemployment support. The Stormont Executive is patronisingly saying there is nothing they can do to challenge the failed economics of the status quo.

Gone is any attempt to have unique, radical or basic proposals that are willing to challenge the power and resources of the wealthy in society. The pandemic has been traumatising for everyone apart from the super wealthy.

Globally, the world’s 10 richest men have seen their combined wealth increase by half a trillion dollars since the pandemic began. Britain's billionaires amassed a combined fortune of £156.6 billion by end of July, according to the annual Billionaires Insights Report from UBS. This is up 34.7 per cent from £116.6 billion the previous year. If there were a tax increase of 1% on Millionaire couples - there would be an extra £260bn that could be brought into public finances.

It’s not good enough for the Executive Ministers to shrug their shoulders and tell us how frugal the Tories are. We know the Tories have a horrible record toward funding public services. The question here is whether the Stormont Executive will be complicit in this rotten economic agenda or whether they will challenge the status quo.

Stormont Executive parties say they have no revenue raising powers but they spent a decade calling for a reduction in Corporation Tax -  they should urgently adopt a new strategy that argues for the wealthy to pay their way.  Why isn’t Finance Minister Conor Murphy fighting to change the narrative to ensure there is a Covid Wealth Tax implemented? Why doesn’t the Finance Minister here seek to find common ground with other Finance Ministers in devolved regions, mayors, trade union bodies and others to call for an urgent wealth tax?

We the undersigned call for:

–        The rejection of the Executive's damaging draft budget proposals.

–        The protection of the vulnerable in our society by fully funding advice services and replacing failed Tory welfare reforms with a humane alternative.

–        The creation of a public jobs programme to help deal with the rise in unemployment, the environmental crisis and the housing crisis.

–        Increase funding and capacity for the NHS, including a massive recruitment campaign to deal with the ever-mounting waiting lists.

–        Urgent increase in funding for mental health services.

–        The strengthening and extension of Covid support measures to protect workers and the vulnerable in our communities.

–        A significant across the board pay rise for workers and strengthening of workers rights.

–        Full reimbursement for students forced to pay tuition fees.

–        A new economic strategy to tackle wealth inequality.