KAREN ANDERSON: Lives hang in the balance this winter – do we have the compassionate government needed to help save them?
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Well, the music has stopped again, and this time it’s Rishi Sunak who has grabbed the chair marked Prime Minister. What a palaver that was, wasn’t it?
It beggars belief that Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng could come out of the starting blocks with a complete lack of understanding of how poor decisions about the economy cause catastrophic impacts on the financial health of the population.
That so called ‘mini-budget’ was anything but mini in its effects. It was like they opened the door of the major financial institutions and chucked a Molotov cocktail in, expecting a round of applause for ‘taking the difficult decisions.’ However, those that make the decisions will not be put into dire straits on the back of their own incompetence. They are all keen to emphasise that they understand how difficult it is for the rest of us, but even a childhood with not much money around does not give you an understanding of being an adult on a low income with the responsibility of providing for a family in the current circumstances.
Anyone who wants to heat their home, pay their rent or mortgage, and feed themselves and their families will be worse off because of what has been decided ‘in the best interests of the country.’ I really notice it in the food shopping where shrinkflation (when something stays the same price but reduces in size of contents), and price hikes are rife. The weekly food shop is becoming an eye-watering sum of money and when lower prices were so recent, the difference is easy to see.
We have also been hit by another double whammy having recently come to the end of fixed price terms on both our utility bills and our mortgage. As things are so volatile just now, and the support for fuel bills has been changed from two years to six months, who knows which is the best route to take. Do a new fix and if there is more support announced, you could end up paying more, or if there isn’t, you could be a genius. But the rates being offered for fixed deals just now are so high, it is a big gamble to decide to pay much more just now in the hope the ball in the financial roulette wheel lands on your colour.
It was like they opened the door of the major financial institutions and chucked a Molotov cocktail in, expecting a round of applause for ‘taking the difficult decisions.’ However, those that make the decisions will not be put into dire straights on the back of their own incompetence.
Add into the mix caring for someone with a disability, illness or addiction and there is the added pressure that our latest Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is saying there needs to be ‘efficiencies’ in Government departments. Carers and disabled people saw the services and support they receive cut or completely disappear during the pandemic, and most are still struggling to get it back to the level it was before. Now they face the prospect of cuts in those vital services and must be filled with despair as every way they turn there is a potential disaster lurking to destabilise their lives and harm their physical and mental health and that of their loved one.
As I write, the new financial statement has been delayed until mid-November, prolonging the uncertainty and increasing the pressure on everyone, but especially those who are already on the edge. With folk relying on food banks and now warm banks just to keep their heads above water, the gulf between the population and most of the politicians who represent them is now an ever-widening chasm. It will take a brave, compassionate and skilful government to save the many lives that hang in the balance this winter. I wonder if that is what we now have?
Karen is Mum to an autistic son in his twenties and campaigns for the rights of unpaid carers to be supported in their caring role and involved in the decisions that affect their lives and the lives of the people they care for. You can find her on twitter @Karen4Carers.
