Originally Posted by
langleybaston
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.
There is, without a doubt, a reduction in Government spending - especially what cascades down to councils and organizations like the Environment Agency. Welfare spending has changed, but the beneficiaries are already Labour or SNP supporters...but these Labour policies are attractive to swing voters...