Quote: .in the face of 12 years of (necessary) austerity
I just don't see "austerity" biting much round here. I don't see it at all.
We were in Spalding at 0830 this morning. Spalding is not, repeat not, prosperous. Agriculture and the dole are the main sources of income [commuting is not easy, and Polish workers snap up jobs the natives cannot be bothered to do].
We could not get into Greggs for a bacon sarnie ......... a very long queue of teenagers buying [and consuming] breakfast. Given that they or their parents could not be bothered with providing breakfast, at least some of them would also be buying lunch later. At a minimum, this has to be about £3 a day for 20 days a month.
They almost all had smart fones ........ bun in one hand, fone in the other. Not cheap, whether contract or purchase.
So that is, say, £50 to £100 per teenager per month.
Austerity?
I accept that matters will be a lot worse in some areas, but they are also a lot better [more prosperous] in many others.
I am tempted to quote Harold MacMillan.