Long election campaign continues amid strikes and growing threat of ‘financial disaster’ for many British families
About 160,000 members of the Conservative Party, mostly men over the age of 55, who live in the affluent south of England, are voting to choose Boris Johnson’s replacement. And for the most part, they want it to be Liz Truss, the current Secretary of State.
Truss has changed sides and ideas in his life, and in this campaign he has also changed his plans. For example, he said he would introduce a system of regional salaries for civil servants and the next day ruled out such a thing. The system would cut the salaries of thousands of police officers or teachers in low-income areas. According to his explanation, the plan had been misunderstood.
This weekend, he explains why he said there is anti-Semitism among officials, then gives the public a classic stereotype about Jews. They are, according to the favorite to become the British leader, likely to start businesses and keep their families together. And she will think about what she can do to alleviate the biggest problem she will have on September 6, when she is head of government.
The UK, like other European countries, is facing the effects of rising prices, with high inflation rates mainly affected by the staggering rise in energy costs. The rise in fuel prices has had a strong impact on transportation and distribution companies, but gas and electricity are on a different scale.
The energy market regulator, Ofgem, sets a maximum price every six months. The year started with a cost of 1,510 euros for a home with an average energy consumption. And according to the forecast from the consultancy Cornwall Insight, which has a track record that makes it credible, it will have risen to €5,237 a year by the spring of 2023.
Much of the south of England has declared a drought, so household energy consumption is not high, but British consumption and savings guru Martin Lewis, who has huge influence through his web site and his television programmes, has warned that the country is headed for an uprising if the government does not dodge the “financial disaster”.
One in twelve civil servants has used or used food banks and many fall just below the threshold that entitles them to wage subsidies. In secondary schools, in a neighborhood two kilometers from the financial city, teachers collect money and distribute food or diapers to the families of their students. The choice between basic needs is already pathetic, and it will get worse.
Lewis and former Prime Minister Gordon Brown have asked the two Conservative candidates to meet to respond to the alarm. Until now, the discussion between them has been whether immediate aid should be given, even if it is insufficient, as Rishi Sunka decided when he was finance minister, or whether taxes should be lowered, as Truss wants.
Since Labor has calculated that the benefit of these discounts to the most deprived would be a pound a week, it is quite possible that the favorite will now present an additional idea. Meanwhile, Claer Barrett, a columnist for the Financial Times, has urged readers not to need the €475 the government will donate to all domestic energy consumers that they donate to charities overwhelmed by need.
Union workers protest. Railway workers go on strike, disrupting the daily lives and travel plans of many people. The Royal College of Nursing has held a vote among its members to decide whether nurses will go on strike for the first time in history. The public health service has been overwhelmed, with long waiting times for ambulances and hospitals at a ratio of one health worker per 14 patients.
Boris Johnson’s government was distinguished not for its zeal — it left unanswered 16 public consultations, to which interested parties contributed with their writings — but the heat, Johnson’s useless interim role and the conservatives’ lengthy electoral process, the repetition of Truss and Sunak’s performances and debates have created a sense of government vacuum at a delicate moment.
John Oxley, a business strategist and political commentator, jumped into that void Friday. In an article by the conservative weekly ‘The Spectator’ he states that “there are solutions to the housing crisis, the stagnant economy, public order or public health, but the Conservative Party is no longer looking for them, seduced by the cycle of 24 hours a day of news, polls and Twitter scammers.
“Neither candidate offers much hope,” concludes the conservative commentator. “Sunak would run the country like a venture capital project, cutting back as much as possible without worrying about the fallout, and Truss would run it like a village party, with endless enthusiasm and playing old hits.”
Source: La Verdad
I am an experienced and passionate journalist with a strong track record in news website reporting. I specialize in technology coverage, breaking stories on the latest developments and trends from around the world. Working for Today Times Live has given me the opportunity to write thought-provoking pieces that have caught the attention of many readers.
