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Coalition Gov't to Blame for Accelerating UK Wealth Gap

© AP PhotoBritain's Prime Minister David Cameron, left, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, center, and Labour party leader Ed Miliband
Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron, left, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, center, and Labour party leader Ed Miliband - Sputnik International
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UK Prime Minister David Cameron's austerity measures have contributed to the growing wealth gap as evidenced by recent figures of living standards hitting 50-year lows, the New Communist Party of Britain's leader told Sputnik on Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The British Trade Union Congress (TUC) revealed on Tuesday that living standards fell by approximately 0.6 percent in five years since Cameron's Conservative Party won a plurality in 2010 and formed a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats.

Britain's opposition Labour Party Ed Miliband (C) poses with members of his shadow cabinet to launch his party's 2015 General Election campaign in east London, March 27, 2015 - Sputnik International
Labour Minority Gov’t to End Unfair Treatment of Poorest – UK Lawmaker
"The figures showed that the rich got richer, and working people have gotten poorer. Though that was a trend under the previous Labour government, it accelerated under this current coalition," Secretary-General Andy Brooks said.

"The purpose is to make poor and working people pay for the crisis, which is the crisis of capitalism itself. And we oppose the austerity regime," Brooks told Sputnik.

Part of the 29-member Europe-wide Initiative of Communist and Workers' Parties, the New Communist Party of Britain's head backed the opposition Labour Party, projected to gain one-third of the votes in the May 7 general election.

© REUTERS / Cathal McNaughtonProtestors in Dublin
Protestors in Dublin - Sputnik International
Protestors in Dublin

"We do call for support for the Labour Party, not because we believe that Labour Party can actually bring to socialism, but because it is a reformist party," Brooks said.

Brtain's austerity program that includes annual cuts of almost $40 billion was instituted with the belief that it would run through 2015-2016, but Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced its extension into at least 2018.

Next Saturday, Britons will go to the polls to elect 650 lawmakers to the House of Commons. Poll trackers are projecting a hung parliament without a single party set to capture over 50 percent of the votes.

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