The Resignation of Bad Apple Boris Must Be Followed By A Rethink Of How Politics Works.

 

After three days of resignations and with a marked lack of grace Boris Johnson has agreed to stand down as Prime Minister. He will remain in post until a successor is chosen by Conservative MPs and party members [1].

 

Greens in North Staffordshire have joined co-leader Carla Denya in calling for his exit from Downing Street to be the spur for a rethink of how politics works.

 

Carla Denya said it was a ‘travesty’ that it had taken so long for Johnson to understand that his position was untenable and castigated Tory MPs and ministers who had protected a prime minister who had “lied and lied again in order to cling on to power” [2].

 

She went on to say, “The British public cannot forget the damage the Conservative Party as a whole has wilfully inflicted on this country in the middle of a pandemic, a cost-of-living crisis and the accelerating climate crisis”.

 

Adding that Boris Johnson was not “just one bad apple, the whole tree is rotten” and that the public confidence in politics could only be restored by a general election giving people chance to have their “say on how they want their country run”.

 

A spokesperson for North Staffs Green Party said that Boris Johnson’s resignation speech [3] had been “an exercise in self-justification and evasion, given the opportunity to admit to the mistakes he had made, and the harm done as a result he chose instead to spin and dissemble to the bitter end”.

 

Adding that, “this showed the sense of entitlement and lack of self-awareness that made him unfit to lead the country”.

 

Concern has been expressed about Boris Johnson remaining in post as a caretaker prime minister, Carla Denya said that his staying on would “disappoint” everyone who wanted to see the end of a “truly unedifying period in British politics.”

 

The situation, she said, highlighted the need for a written constitution, which would put procedure in place to determine whether he could stay on until a successor was appointed, the current arrangement based on “honour and gentlemen’s agreements” had never “been fit for purpose but breaks down entirely when faced with such dishonourable politicians as Johnson” [4].

 

The Conservatives promised to set up a Constitution, Democracy and Rights Commission in their 2019 election manifesto, progress on doing so has since then been sluggish [5].

 

Responding to a consultation launched by the Public Administration and Parliamentary Affairs committee in November 2020 the Green Party set out its vision for how a constitution could be created that would modernise the way politics works and give all stakeholders an equal voice [6].

 

Carla Denya said the Green Party would continue to “argue strongly for constitutional reform”, adding that Johnson’s resignation showed it was “time for us all to have our say on how our democracy works, which is why Greens say now is the time for a Constitutional Convention to help us build a true and modern democracy.”

 

[1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-62072419

[2] https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2022/07/07/greens-call-for-general-election-in-wake-of-boris-johnson-resigning/?link_id=0&can_id=8bc5e413fe5b14a23ca14eb06da17776&source=email-green-party-morning-briefing-thursday-7-july&email_referrer=email_1598927&email_subject=green-party-morning-briefing-friday-8-july

[3] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-62070755

[4] https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2022/07/08/green-party-calls-for-constitutional-convention-in-wake-of-johnson-resignation/

[5] https://constitution-unit.com/2022/04/12/what-happened-to-the-constitution-democracy-and-rights-commission/

[6]https://www.greenparty.org.uk/assets/files/Communications/PCAC_consultation_Nov2020.pdf

 

Government Funding for Better Bus Services is Failing to Achieve its Aims.

 

The Campaign for Better Transport has published analysis showing that the competitive system local authorities have to take part in to gain funding for improving bus services is disadvantaging smaller, often rural councils.

 

The analysis published on 1^st July, coinciding with the deadline for operators to submit any planned changes to services ahead of the withdrawal of COVID related recovery funding in October showed a consistent pattern of ‘winners’ and ‘losers’.

 

Sylvia Barrett of the Campaign for Better Transport said it had “uncovered a painful truth, that the Government’s policy of asking local authorities to compete for local transport funding is producing the same winners and losers time and again” [1].

 

The report Funding Local Bus Services in England [2] contains analysis showing that the 12 local authorities awarded the most government funding are all urban authorities, while 15 of the authorities receiving the least funding cover rural areas.

 

These findings are based on analysis of allocations of funding over the past decade by councils applying to government schemes including the Transforming Cities Fund, the Active Travel Fund, and the Bus Service Improvement Plan.

 

Sylvia Barratt said that all communities deserve a ‘reliable, regular and affordable’ bus service. However, a funding system that favours urban authorities with dedicated transport planning teams were unfairly advantaged.

 

She went on to say that the government needs to “move away from this fragmented and competitive way of funding and replace it with a long-term funding settlement for all transport authorities.”

 

Other findings published in the report include that over the past decade 5,000 bus routes have been cut. Further cuts are likely as bus usage is currently at 80% of what it was before March 2020, the Campaign for Better Transport warn this could contribute to a vicious circle of decline.

 

The £1.08 billion in Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) funding went to 31 Local Transport Authorities, just 40% of those who applied. This creates significant gaps and works against the creation of a national bus strategy promised by the government in 2019, details of which were eventually published in May 2021.

 

Being successful in applying for funding to transform bus services does not guarantee authorities get the amount they requested, many received less than half and some significantly less.

 

Commenting on the report Campaign for Better Transport Chief Executive Graham Vidler said it highlighted the “very different outcomes” experienced by local authorities when bidding for funding.

 

The Campaign for Better Transport are calling for an end to competitive funding and for money to be reallocated from carbon intensive transport policies like road building into a single funding pot accessible to all local authorities.

 

Graham Vidler said it was “time for Government to commit further, long-term funding to turn the ambition of the national bus strategy into tangible improvements for passengers everywhere."

 

[1] https://bettertransport.org.uk/new-analysis-finds-government-funding-intended-transform-buses-disadvantaging-rural-communities

[2] https://bettertransport.org.uk/sites/default/files/research-files/Funding_local_bus_services_in_England_June_2022.pdf

 

You Really Appreciate Places Like This, They Help You Get Out Of The House And Enjoy Being Outdoors.

 

Better Together Community Support Group for Stoke-on-Trent and NuL have taken over the garden at St Werburgh’s School in Clayton [1].

 

The Seabridge Lane site is home to a wildlife garden and a plot for growing vegetables. Better Together have ambitious plans to develop it as a community garden and as a site for hosting some of their regular groups.

 

Mrs Wilson, headteacher at St Werburgh’s described the work done to bring the garden back into use as “absolutely fantastic” and that it would be “something everyone will now be able to enjoy”.

 

Jo Gideon, MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central and a patron of Better Together said that a community garden was a “fantastic idea”, adding that gardening is an activity that shows “countless benefits to both physical and mental health, with the added benefit of providing you with fresh produce to put on your plate”.

 

The garden will be part of their A-Maize-Ing-Grow project, which encourages people to take part in activities where they can learn about and engage with nature in ways that benefit their wellbeing [2].

 

Better Together CEO Birgit Alport said the aim was to “bring the community together” and “help people to cook from scratch and save money. Adding that “we also want to educate people about sustainability and not wasting food”.

 

Many of the plants and materials used in the garden have been donated by local businesses including Morrison’s supermarket.

 

Gemma Morris, a Community Champion based at the Morrison’s store in Newcastle said, “as a community retailer we are happy to support this project and the work Better Together do to stop food going to waste”. It was, she said, also “important for kids to learn that food comes from somewhere other than a shop”.

 

Using nature to help people cope with the stresses of everyday is an important part of the A-Maize-Ing-Grow project, particularly now when, Birgit said, it can be a “struggle to make ends meet”.

 

Dan, one of the Better Together volunteers who has worked on the garden said he felt it will be a “wonderful place” that will help people to feel calm.

 

Once the garden is open, he will be part of the team that will maintain it, something he said he was happy to do because “Birgit and her team were there for me when I was in a bad place”, now he wants to “give something back”.

 

Drue, another Better Together volunteer said, “you really appreciate places like this, they help you to get out of the house”, adding that she finds working in the garden “relaxing” and it is an opportunity to “meet nice people and enjoy the outdoors”

 

The garden will be formally opened by Stoke Central MP Jo Gideon on Saturday 25^th June.

 

We All Need To Work Together To Protect Nature.

 

Members of North Staffs Pensioners Convention met in the Mitchell Arts Centre in Hanley for a public meeting to discuss environmental issues.

 

Green Party councillor for the Stafford war of Doxey and Castletown Tony Pearce was one of three speakers invited to address the meeting. Also on the platform were former Stoke-on-Trent councillor and member of the Save Berryhill Fields Action Group, and Dr Mick Salt of the Stop the Stink Scientific Advisory Group.

 

Tony Pearce spoke about how he had grown up in Stoke-on-Trent and been active in local politics from an early age, before working in education and then as a full time official for the National Union of Teachers.

 

He held elected positions on Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Staffordshire County Council for Labour before becoming disillusioned with the party’s policies, including its response to the threat posed by climate change.

 

The Green Party offered a more viable alternative with its understanding, he said, that the drive for endless growth is the cause of many of the problems we face and commitment to social justice. In 2019 he won his current seat for the party and since then has worked to make protecting the environment a priority for the county council.

 

He has tabled motions calling for the declaration of a climate emergency, single use plastics and helped to set up a Climate Change Panel to involve the community in decision making on environmental issues.

 

The important thing was, he said, for everyone to realize they had a role to play in working to protect nature.

 

Dr Mick Salt, a founding member of the Stop the Stink Scientific Advisory Group spoke about the ongoing campaign with Red Industries over the ‘stink’ from Walley’s Quarry.

 

The impact of pollution from the site, caused it has been claimed, by the illegal dumping of hazardous waste at the site can be seen in the 22,239 complaints received about the ‘stink’ by Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council in 2021 alone. A further 43,263 complaints were received by the Environment Agency and pollution from the site was described by the Appeal Court decision following the case presented by the family of Matthew Richards as posing a ‘real and immediate’ risk to public health.

 

Despite repeatedly issuing enforcement notices, Dr Salt said, the Environment Agency had failed to follow through when it came to ensuring Red Industries too the required action. He also spoke about the intimidating methods used by Red Industries to inhibit protest by members of the community, including taking out an injunction banning protesters from outside the gates to the quarry.

 

Barry Stockley spoke about the struggle to protect Berryhill Fields, which began in the 1980’s when it was proposed as the site for an opencast coalmine. Residents and the council fought successfully against British Coal to prevent this, eventually winning their case in 1994. He described this as being “one of the most satisfying” days in his career as a councillor.

 

The proposed Local Plan, originally to be created by Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme councils as a joint exercise, saw the site come under threat again in 2017. This time as the site for 1306 houses, if this has gone ahead it would have destroyed a habitat that is home to 167 species of birds and to rare brown hares and great crested newts.

 

The proposed Local Plan collapsed following a disagreement between the two councils and there was, he said, a strong possibility that the land would not now be developed, but the threat remains in place.

 

Responding to a question from the floor about the often-confusing rules around recycling Dr Salt said there was a need for a consistent and clear nation wide set of guidelines. Also responding to a question about recycling Tony Pearce said that the deal requiring the County Council to pay for a fixed quantity of waste to be burnt, regardless of the amount sent to the incinerator, removed the incentive for more to be done to encourage recycling.

 

Questions were also asked about the lack of funding for the Environment Agency and other bodies, the need for hydrogen powered busses to replace the polluting diesel ones used by First and the impact of lack of access to green spaces on local children.

 

 

OFGEM Changing The Goalposts Will Not Help Families Struggling To Pay Soaring Energy Bills.

Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsey has criticized plans by energy regulator OFGEM to review the price cap on energy bills every three months, instead of every six months.

 

The change would not come into force until October and, the regulator says, will make the energy market fairer and more resilient to shocks of the type seen recently.

 

OFGEM chief executive Jonathan Brearley told Sky News "A more frequent price cap would reflect the most up to date and accurate energy prices and mean when prices fall from the current record highs, customers would see the benefit much sooner”[1].

 

Adding that it will also help “energy suppliers more accurately predict how much energy they need to purchase for their customers, reducing the risk of further supplier failures which ultimately push up costs for consumers."

 

Adrian Ramsey said “Changing the goalposts in this way will do nothing to help the millions of households struggling to put food on the table and pay eye-watering energy bills. Energy companies may think that such tinkering will mitigate the cost-of-living crisis, but they're not fooling anyone” [2].

 

The plan has also been criticized finance expert Martin Lewis, speaking to Sky News he said it was an anti-competitive measure that would stop energy firms from undercutting the price cap.

 

An IPSOS poll conducted for Sky News revealed that one in five Britons are concerned about the rising cost of living and that one in four have resorted to skipping meals to save money [3].

 

Charity Action for Children say families they work with have reported having to wear coats to keep warm and ‘living in the dark’ because they cannot afford to switch on lights.

 

Director of Policy at Action for Children Imran Hussain told the Guardian “The worst pain and misery of the cost-of-living crisis is being felt by children in low-income families, yet the government is refusing to target help for these children or accept that it needs to rethink its huge cut to universal credit” [4].

 

Adrian Ramsey said “We need measures that put money back in people's pockets now. That’s why the Green Party has argued for restoring the £20 uplift to Universal Credit and doubling it to £40 per week, in addition to other benefits. We also want to provide every household with an additional £320 to help them pay for spiralling energy costs”.

 

The need to act on the cost-of-living crisis is made more urgent by the impact it is having on people’s health.

 

A YouGov poll conducted for the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) found that out of the 2001 people questioned 55% felt their health had been made worse by higher bills for food and heating.

 

The impact is being felt, the data shows, by people with existing and sometimes life-threatening health conditions who cannot afford to travel to hospital for treatment.

 

People questioned about the impact of the rising cost of living on their health who reported it as being negative cited increased heating costs (84%), and the rising cost of food (78%) as contributing factors.

 

Speaking to the Guardian Dr Andrew Goddard, the president of the RCP said “The cost-of-living crisis has barely begun, so the fact that one in two people is already experiencing worsening health should sound alarm bells, especially at a time when our health service is under more pressure than ever before” [5].

 

In addition to the measures he outlined to address the short-term impact of the crisis action must be taken to protect people from further energy price rises. Adrian Ramsey said “we need to see a massive nationwide insulation programme over the next decade. This could reduce energy bills dramatically while ensuring that everyone has energy efficient homes to live in”.

 

Adding that “the introduction of a carbon tax on the fossil fuel companies - who are making colossal profits on the back of the cost-of-living crisis - would help pay for such a retrofit programme”, something Green Party law makers in the Republic of Ireland have successfully campaigned for [6].

 

 

[1] https://news.sky.com/story/cost-of-living-energy-price-cap-adjustments-could-be-every-three-months-under-regulators-shake-up-plan-12614328

[2] https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2022/05/16/ofgem-tinkering-energy-cap-review-fails-to-address-cost-of-living-crisis/?link_id=0&can_id=8bc5e413fe5b14a23ca14eb06da17776&source=email-green-party-morning-briefing-monday-16-may&email_referrer=email_1546537&email_subject=green-party-morning-briefing-tuesday-17-may

[3] https://news.sky.com/story/more-than-four-in-five-britons-concerned-about-rising-cost-of-living-poll-for-sky-news-suggests-12614622?link_id=7&can_id=8bc5e413fe5b14a23ca14eb06da17776&source=email-green-party-morning-briefing-monday-16-may&email_referrer=email_1546537&email_subject=green-party-morning-briefing-tuesday-17-may

[4] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/may/17/poverty-families-cost-of-living-crisis-action-for-children?link_id=8&can_id=8bc5e413fe5b14a23ca14eb06da17776&source=email-green-party-morning-briefing-monday-16-may&email_referrer=email_1546537&email_subject=green-party-morning-briefing-tuesday-17-may

[5] https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/may/17/cost-of-living-crisis-health-worse-poll-britons?link_id=11&can_id=8bc5e413fe5b14a23ca14eb06da17776&source=email-green-party-morning-briefing-monday-16-may&email_referrer=email_1546537&email_subject=green-party-morning-briefing-tuesday-17-may

[6] https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/government-launches-the-national-retrofitting-scheme/#

 

 

A Lot of Bills and Hot Air in a Queen’s Speech That Fails to Address the Cost-of-Living Crisis.

 

Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsey has joined leading figures in criticising the programme of legislation outlined by the government in the Queen’s Speech.

 

He said the programme contained “a lot of Bills; a lot of hot air. Nothing to create the fairer greener communities that so many are crying out for, and so many people voted for when they elected Green councillors in record numbers last week” [1]. 

 

The speech contained 38 bills to be put before parliament, these include controversial plans to sell off Channel 4 and to replace the Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights. Notable by their absence were any fresh measures to help people struggling to make ends meet as energy costs and the price of food both rocket.

 

Adrian Ramsey said the government appeared “to be putting its energy into creating a bonfire of environmental standards and protections we enjoyed as part of the EU rather than tackling the root causes of growing climate instability. It refuses to impose a dirty profits tax on the fossil fuel giants or introduce the hugely popular idea of a carbon tax that could help fund the transition to a cleaner, greener economy with greater energy security and lower bills.”   

 

Responding to the speech Labour leader Kier Starmer said the government had failed to respond to a “looming stagflation crisis”, adding that it was “bereft of ideas or purpose, without a guiding principle or a roadmap for delivery”.

 

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the government were doing “nothing to help the millions of families and pensioners facing soaring bills and eye watering inflation”, adding that it showed “a prime minister refusing to listen to the clear message sent by voters at last week’s local elections who are fed up of being taken for granted by this Conservative government.”

 

Criticism also came from the right with Tory MPs including David Davis and John Redwood calling for tax cuts, former policy adviser to Theresa May Gavin Barwell criticised the government for showing a “lack of action”, saying that “morally and politically” it needs to do more [2].

In response the government claim that two thirds of the bills contained in the speech, citing as an example the energy security bill, are aimed at boosting economic growth.

 

However, prime minister Boris Johnson said, no country was “immune” to the “economic shocks” caused by the pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and other issues. Adding that “no government can realistically shield everyone from the impact”.

 

The severity of the squeeze on household incomes was highlighted by data published by the National Institute for Social and Economic Research (NIESR) showing that 1.5 million households are set to see the cost of living outstrip their disposable income, forcing them to borrow money or rely on savings. As a result another 250,000 households will be ‘tipped over’ into destitution, taking the number of households in extreme poverty to 1.2 million.

 

Speaking to the Guardian NIESR boss Jagjit Chadha said the policies pursued by the government could be directly blamed for harming the incomes of UK households. He called on the government to use its £20billion borrowing capacity to help those who are struggling [3].

 

Prior to the Queen’s Speech the Green Party had called on the government to help people cope with the rising cost of living. Co leader Carla Denyer said their strong results in the local elections showed the public are increasingly supportive of plans to use initiatives such as insulating millions of homes to cut energy bills and combat climate change.

 

She said “The recent local election results, where the Greens gained more seats than Labour in England, shows that the public are crying out for the ambitious plan to address the cost of living crisis that Greens have put forward”, something that contrasted sharply with the response of a government that “Distracted by scandal after scandal” was “utterly failing to get a grip on the twin crises of the rising cost of living and the climate emergency” [4]. 

 

Among the measures called for by the NIESR to help households cope with the spiralling cost of living are a £25 weekly uplift to Universal Credit to be paid between May and October this year and a one-off cash payment to low-income households.

 

NIESR deputy director for public policy Professor Adrian Pabst told the Guardian these measures were needed because rising prices will “push up bills, drag down demand and increase income inequalities. The big squeeze on budgets will hit the lower-income households hardest who live in some of the most economically and socially deprived parts of the country”.

 

The NISER recommendations are close to policies the Green Party has been advocating since the beginning of the cost-of-living crisis. The Greens would go further though, using a Universal Basic Income to reduce poverty and creating jobs through insulating draughty homes and switching to renewable energy.

 

Its failure to offer even this limited amount of support, Adrian Ramsey said, showed that the government had “again demonstrated its failure to get to grips with the cost-of-living crisis and the climate emergency. Greens have a plan to tackle both in parallel through a multi-billion-pound programme of home insulation to cut energy bills and carbon emissions”.

 

 

 

 

[1] https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2022/05/10/the-queens-speech-nothing-to-create-fairer-greener-communities-say-greens/?link_id=0&can_id=8bc5e413fe5b14a23ca14eb06da17776&source=email-green-party-morning-briefing-tuesday-10-may&email_referrer=email_1540278&email_subject=green-party-morning-briefing-wednesday-11-may

[2] https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/may/10/queens-speech-boris-johnson-bereft-of-ideas-to-tackle-cost-of-living-crisis?link_id=8&can_id=8bc5e413fe5b14a23ca14eb06da17776&source=email-green-party-morning-briefing-tuesday-10-may&email_referrer=email_1540278&email_subject=green-party-morning-briefing-wednesday-11-may

[3] https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/may/11/further-250000-uk-households-face-destitution-in-2023-warns-niesr?link_id=9&can_id=8bc5e413fe5b14a23ca14eb06da17776&source=email-green-party-morning-briefing-tuesday-10-may&email_referrer=email_1540278&email_subject=green-party-morning-briefing-wednesday-11-may

[4] https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2022/05/08/greens-call-for-humane-approach-to-cost-of-living-and-refugees-in-queen%E2%80%99s-speech/

 

Desperation On The Dole As The Value Of Unemployment Benefit Falls.

 

Analysis published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) shows that in April the value of the basic rate of unemployment benefit fell by the greatest amount since 1972.

 

Peter Matejic, Deputy Director for Evidence and impact at the JRF said “A decade of cuts and freezes to benefits have left many people in our society in increasingly desperate situations, struggling to afford food, energy and basic hygiene products. Without urgent action from the government, the stark reality is that the situation could get much worse” [1].

 

Benefits increased by 3.1% in April, far behind an increase in inflation expected to hit 7.7% and continue rising. As a result, households receiving benefits will see real terms cut to their income that could pull another 600,000 people into poverty.

 

Analysis carried out by the JRF shows that in eight out of ten benefits level changes between 2013 and 2022 the basic level of unemployment benefits has lost value in real terms.

 

They identify a precedence of benefit levels not keeping pace with inflation, but this latest fall represents a significant loss in value as prices continue to rise.

 

Peter Matejic said “With living costs predicted to rise further this year, it is difficult to comprehend the logic behind a choice not to act to protect the value of benefits, thereby imposing the single biggest benefit cut of its kind in fifty years. The government has chosen to weaken the incomes of the poorest at the worst possible moment”.

 

This latest blow to the incomes of the most vulnerable households comes as the cost of living is continuing to rise.

 

In March the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicted that inflation could reach a forty year high of 8.7% as wages fail to keep pace, they warn living standards are set to fall by 2.2% [2].

Additional problems have been caused by the 54% hike in energy costs introduced at the start of April, this is set to be followed by another significant rise in the Autumn. Speaking to the commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy committee leaders of the main energy companies warned an increase in people living in fuel poverty is inescapable [3].

 

Further pressure is being added to family budgets by the rising cost of food caused by higher costs for producers and the impact of the war in Ukraine on global supply chains.

 

Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Sunday Morning programme ASDA chair Stuart Rose said that while retailers were, he believed, committed to “doing what we can to shield customers”, prices would inevitably rise and that many families already struggling with the cost-of-living crisis “are going to suffer” [4].

 

Across the country communities go to the polls in local elections this week, traditionally national issues cut less ice than matters such as poor road maintenance and other parochial issues. That will not be the case this time.

 

These local elections will be the first chance since 2019 for the public to express an opinion on the progress of a Johnson government that promised to level up struggling communities. A cost-of-living crisis sandwiched between a pandemic and a possible European war has thrown things significantly off track. Not least because their efforts to address all three have been slow, confused and often ineffectual.

 

This should be a boom time for Labour, they are ahead in the polls and should do well picking up seats lost in previous local elections. Yet something about them fails to convince and often even confuses voters.

 

Despite being in a position to land a killer blow on a seemingly weekly basis leader Kier Starmer pulls his punch more often than not. Preferring to rely on showing how nifty his footwork is at keeping balance on the centre ground, even though the latitude and public desire for something more challenging, even radical is evident.

 

Predicting election results is a far from exact science, what is clear though is that an election the public go into feeling antagonism towards the government and bafflement as to what alternative the opposition offers does not promise a happy outcome locally or nationally.

 

 

[1] https://www.jrf.org.uk/press/main-out-work-benefit-sees-its-biggest-drop-value-fifty-years?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=JRF%20Newsletter%20April%202022&utm_content=JRF%20Newsletter%20April%202022+CID_acbac5f93d1bb505fef901f0abc9cbbe&utm_source=Email%20marketing%20software&utm_term=British%20silver%20coins

[2] https://obr.uk/overview-of-the-march-2022-economic-and-fiscal-outlook/

[3] https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/economic-update-cost-of-living-has-wide-ranging-impact/?utm_source=HOC+Library+-+Research+alerts&utm_campaign=337604fbff-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2022_04_30_08_00&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_a9da1c9b17-337604fbff-102538305&mc_cid=337604fbff&mc_eid=f71b05b479

[4] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61271562