A MORE EQUAL SOCIETY?

This was my article in the Cornish Guardian on the 3rd August.

It is my sincere belief that politics should be about making society more equal and tackling the inequities experienced by individuals and families, as well as by communities in the different parts of the United Kingdom. But the last few days have shown that Westminster politics is failing to rise to this important challenge.

The cost of living crisis is getting worse and worse. But as so many ordinary households struggle to pay their basic bills, and millions and millions worry about how they will cope in the coming winter, some of the UK’s largest energy companies have announced bumper profits.

At this time of great crisis, shareholders are due to receive significant dividend pay-outs while the executives of these companies – some of whom already have salaries in excess of a million pounds – will receive massive bonuses. This includes the CEO of Centrica (which owns British Gas), who already earns £875,000-a-year and, according to some reports, he could receive additional bonuses totalling £2.87 million – a sum that an average Cornish worker could not earn in a hundred years.

It is little wonder that newspaper headlines shared the anger at the obsceneness of it all. One questioned how the executives slept at night, while another described the payments as “profits in misery."

And then there was the report from the Institute of Public Policy Research (North). This was very critical of the Government’s so-called “Levelling Up” agenda, which is meant to be tackling regional disparities across the UK. Obviously, the focus of the document was about flagging up concerns relating to the extent of public spending in the north of England, but the key statistic was that London – the wealthiest part of the UK – had seen the highest increase in government investment in recent years. This is the exact opposite of levelling up.

I attended a scrutiny meeting last week at which councillors were informed that the much-awaited proposal for local authorities to charge extra tax on second homes will not happen until 2024, or possibly even 2025. In addition, it was suggested that a promised review of the present funding formula for local government is likely to be delayed until 2026. We have to ask: where is the priority for housing justice and fairer funding for councils?

Also last week, there was confirmation that the new women’s and children’s unit at Treliske – misleading called a “new hospital” – has been delayed, while the plan for a much-needed extension to West Cornwall Hospital has been paused.

It is hardly surprising that so many people – myself included – are questioning the Government’s commitment to building a fairer and more equal society.