Labour’s handling of the economy could leave women in danger from domestic abuse and other physical and sexual violence without help, leading charities warned today.
Five leading organisations have written to Sir Keir Starmer warning that funding cuts and an increases to employers’ National Insurance Contributions (Nics) could result in them ‘closing our doors to vulnerable victims of crime’.
They say that the cash shortfall may leave them with ‘no choice’ but to lay off staff, close waiting lists and cut services for victims-survivors of gender-based violence.
Sir Keir pledged to halve violence against women and girls (Vawg) in Labour’s election manifesto and met ex-Spice Girl Mel B in March to discuss the issue.
But the chief executives of Victim Support, Rape Crisis England and Wales, Welsh Women’s Aid, Women’s Aid Federation of England and Imkaan have told him they are set to lose millions of pounds, and requested he meet them.
It comes as Sir Keir and Rachel Reeves – the first ever female Chancellor – face growing pressure over the impact of the Budget on Britain.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) this morning said UK GDP flatlined in the three months from July, when Sir Keir swept to power.
And last night the The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said the economy was heading for the ‘worst of all worlds’ in 2025 as businesses grapple with Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ ‘tax-bomb’ fiscal statement.
Ciara Bergman, the CEO of Rape Crisis England and Wales said: ‘Every year, Rape Crisis centres support thousands of adult and child survivors of rape and sexual abuse to rebuild their lives and persevere through a justice system which is abjectly failing them.
‘Without support, the few who do seek criminal justice would simply give up.
‘But recently announced National Insurance increases coupled with Police and Crime Commissioner funding cuts will leave our centres with little choice but to close their waiting lists or shut down their services.
‘They simply do not have the financial or emotional reserves to withstand further cuts or to turn survivors away.
We hope the Prime Minister will meet with us to hear our concerns and rethink these plans.’
And Katie Kempen, the CEO if Victim Support added: ‘Closing our doors to vulnerable victims of crime is the last thing we want to do. But we could be left with no choice.
‘The government must immediately reverse planned cuts and instead increase the victims’ services grant to cover National Insurance rises.
‘If they don’t, the stark reality is that people who have experienced the shock and trauma of crime, including domestic abuse and sexual violence survivors, will have to go without vital support.’
The CBI today said the outlook for the start of 2025 was ‘firmly negative’ across all main sectors, including manufacturing, services and retail – with firms directly blaming the £25 billion Budget hike in employers’ National Insurance.
Shadow chancellor Mel Stride said: ‘Today’s figures demonstrate the latest failure at the hands of this Chancellor.
‘The Labour Government must now urgently revisit their disastrous budget and align economic policy with growth not decline. Every moment of delay is further damaging business confidence, output and employment.
‘The warning lights are flashing.’
The ONS today said that UK gross domestic product (GDP) showed no growth between July and September, in the run up to the Autumn budget.
Statisticians had previously estimated 0.1 per cent growth for the quarter.
The ONS also revised down its growth reading for the second quarter of 2024, to 0.4 per cent. In September, it said it thought GDP had increased by 0.5 per cent, which was itself a reduction on previous estimates.
ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said: ‘The economy was weaker in the second and third quarters of this year than our initial estimates suggested with bars and restaurants, legal firms and advertising, in particular, performing less well.
‘The household saving ratio fell a little in the latest period, though remains relatively high by historic standards.
‘Meanwhile, real household disposable income per head showed no growth.’
This morning Ms Reeves said: ‘The challenge we face to fix our economy and properly fund our public finances after 15 years of neglect is huge.
‘But this is only fuelling our fire to deliver for working people.
‘The Budget and our Plan for Change will deliver sustainable long-term growth, putting more money in people’s pockets through increased investment and relentless reform.’
Monday’s downward revision was partly linked to a weaker performance across the important services industry.
Services output failed to grow over the third quarter of the year, revised down from a previous estimate of 0.1 per cent.
This came after experts said consumer-facing services firms only saw 0.1 per cent growth, down from a previous reading of 0.5 per cent.
It said this came after bars and restaurants, and legal services firms recorded a weaker than previously expected performance.
The ONS also said the production sector saw slightly weaker growth than previously thought, on the back of a downgrade for manufacturing firms.
A CBI survey of 899 firms painted a downbeat picture of the country’s economic future. It found that private sector activity is expected to fall in the first three months of next year, with business optimism at its weakest since November 2022, after Liz Truss’s mini-Budget.
The CBI said businesses were saying private sector employment ‘will be cut sharply’ in the first quarter of the year.
Hiring intentions are at their weakest since October 2020 when Britain was in the grip of the Covid pandemic, and almost half of firms (48 per cent) are planning to cut staff numbers, while 62 per cent have scaled back pre-Budget hiring plans.
Employers also issued a warning about inflation, saying the NI rise would have a knock-on impact on prices and that wage growth remained ‘higher than the level consistent’ with the Bank of England’s 2 per cent target. Official figures last week showed that inflation rose for the second month running to 2.6 per cent.
Alpesh Paleja, the CBI’s deputy chief economist, said: ‘There is little festive cheer in our latest surveys, which suggest that the economy is headed for – firms expect to reduce both output and hiring, and price growth expectations are getting firmer.
‘Businesses continue to cite the impact of measures announced in the Budget – particularly the rise in employer National Insurance contributions – exacerbating an already tepid demand environment.’
The warning follows recent figures showing the economy shrank for the second month in a row in October, causing the Bank of England to cut its growth forecast for the final quarter of this year to zero.
The Bank’s former deputy governor, Sir Charlie Bean, yesterday said the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) was also likely to cut its official forecasts for next year, having previously predicted growth of 2 per cent.
He told Sky News: ‘If the OBR were to conduct new forecasts now, they would be downgrading that growth forecast simply because they have information about growth at the back end of this year, which they didn’t previously have. So it is reasonable to expect them to project lower growth for 2025.’
Tory business spokesman Andrew Griffith accused Ms Reeves of creating ‘a hostile climate for aspiration, for investment, and for growth’.
He added: ‘The Chancellor’s tax-raising spree and trash-talking her economic inheritance is literally killing businesses and jobs.
‘If there is a recession – and based on these CBI expectations that seems increasingly likely – it will be one made in Downing Street. Labour need to urgently change course before the damage they are doing becomes even greater.’
Commons leader Lucy Powell yesterday admitted that the NI raid at the Budget had created ‘consequences for business’ and that growth figures were ‘disappointing’.
But she added: ‘We took the decision to put a record level of investment into our National Health Service to bring down those waiting lists… because if you can’t work, you can’t go to work.
‘And these chronic factors in our economy, lack of housing supply, a sick economy, a sick population, a poor education, poor skills, are what is holding our country back.’