Budget Proposals in 2010 Party Manifestos – analysis

UK Women’s Budget Group Report on Budget Proposals in Party Manifestos, May 2010

Government budgets in the next parliament are in danger of reversing trends to greater equality between women and men. The need for analysis of the gender equality impact of the UK budget has never been greater. Harriet Harman has now committed a future Labour Government to conducting and publishing analysis of the budget’s impact on gender equality. Will the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats make the same commitment?

None of the three main parties have published any assessment of how the budget proposals in their manifestos will impact on gender equality. Nor has the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS), though it has produced useful analysis of the impact on the distribution of income between households.

On 27th April, at a debate organized by the Fawcett Society, Harriet Harman committed a future Labour Government to publishing assessments of the differential impact of budgets on women and men. She points out that the Equality Act will require such assessments to be made; and she has committed to making them public. This is an important step forward, which we welcome; and we call upon the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats to give similar assurances.

The UK Women’s Budget Group is a voluntary organization, lacking the resources of the IFS, and the political parties. Thus we are not in a position to produce a comprehensive and detailed gender equality impact assessment. But we believe there is enough evidence to suggest that achieving gender equality is likely to be put in jeopardy by government budgets in the next parliament, based on proposals made by the three largest parties in their manifestos and campaign statements.

You can read our full analysis here.