Time for a period of political stability
This is my last first column of 2022, and it is fair to say that in terms of both domestic and international events it has been an extremely busy and turbulent year.
group leaders
Twelve years of economic failure
Just 55 days after the disastrous mini-budget, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered his Autumn Statement, which confirmed that working people will pay the price of Tory incompetence.
Voter ID will stop people voting
The UK Government has announced a multimillion-pound plan that would stop people from voting in elections unless they can show photo identification (ID).
Mitigating the Truss mini-budget
The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement has attempted to mitigate the disastrous Liz Truss Budget, adding £8.5 billion to health, social care and schools’ budgets in 2024/25, but leaving other departments to absorb the impact of higher inflation.
Public services at breaking point
Just weeks after taking power, Prime Minister Liz Truss and former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng made a remarkable impact – their disastrous kamikaze mini-Budget crashed the economy, causing market panic, and forcing the Bank of England to intervene.
Budgets destroyed by inflation
Frontline services, already cut to the bone, and regeneration projects are under the greatest threat, with inflationary pressures predicted to cost councils more than £1 billion next year at least.
Councils creaking under the strain
Before the mini-Budget, the LGA had calculated a £2.4 billion shortfall in our council budgets from next May.
Changing of the guard
With the previous edition of first quite rightly focusing on the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, I would like to take this opportunity to belatedly congratulate Liz Truss on her appointment as Prime Minister.
Bringing people together
It was with great sadness that we learnt of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 8 September. This is a profound national loss.
Elizabeth the Great – leading by example
On behalf of the Liberal Democrat local government family, I offer our condolences to His Majesty King Charles III and the Royal Family on the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.