A friend sent me an email this afternoon. They said, after the usual social exchanges:<\/p>\n
Further to Burnham's announcement of a PM progress around the kingdom, one wonders if you could draft some talking points\/solutions for the community in case members are able to ambush?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
That got me thinking. This is my response. In each case, I provide a short preamble to frame the question, followed by a choice of questions to ask. I am aware I have missed issues like the NHS, the environment and a lot else I think is important. I decided to focus on the cost of living above all else.<\/p>\n
\nHousing<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
Housing costs are one of the biggest pressures on household budgets.<\/p>\n
Questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n
- Why are house prices and rents still rising faster than many people\u2019s incomes?<\/li>\n
- What will your government do to make housing genuinely affordable rather than simply increasing supply?<\/li>\n
- Should housing be treated primarily as a home or as an investment? How will you change the emphasis?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Energy<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
Britain continues to have some of the highest electricity prices in Europe despite generating increasing amounts of renewable energy.<\/p>\n
Questions:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\n
- Why are British consumers still paying such high electricity prices?<\/li>\n
- How will you reform the electricity market so that cheaper renewable power permanently reduces household bills?<\/li>\n
- What are you going to do to reduce long-term energy costs rather than offering temporary subsidies?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Food<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
Many families continue to struggle with food prices.<\/p>\n
Questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n
- Why are food prices still placing so much pressure on household budgets?<\/li>\n
- What action will you take if supermarkets and food producers make excessive profits out of food shortages?<\/li>\n
- How are you going to improve food security in the UK?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Transport<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
Transport costs affect access to work, education and services.<\/p>\n
Questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n
- How will you make all public transport genuinely affordable when it is not right now?<\/li>\n
- Should bus and rail services be treated more as public services than commercial businesses?<\/li>\n
- What is your long-term strategy for reducing transport costs?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Childcare<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
Many parents find childcare costs make working financially difficult.<\/p>\n
Questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n
- Why has childcare become so expensive?<\/li>\n
- What will you do to reduce childcare costs?<\/li>\n
- How will you improve recruitment and retention in the childcare sector, which seems to be a really big issue and which can expose children to risk?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Social care<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
The cost of care worries many families.<\/p>\n
Questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n
- When will England finally receive a sustainable social care system?<\/li>\n
- How will people be protected from catastrophic care costs? What bis the funding mechanism you prefer? You must have one.<\/li>\n
- How will you ensure care workers receive fair pay?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Tax and household incomes<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
Many people feel that work is taxed more heavily than wealth.<\/p>\n
Questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n
- Do you believe the tax system treats income from work and wealth fairly?<\/li>\n
- Will you reform taxes so that people who work for a living do not pay higher rates of tax than those who live off unearned incomes like rent, interest and dividends, which is what happens now?<\/li>\n
- How would you ensure those with the greatest ability to pay contribute fairly? Do you favour higher taxes on the wealthy?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Wages and living standards<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
Real wages have stagnated for many households.<\/p>\n
Questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n
- Why has Britain experienced such weak wage growth?<\/li>\n
- What is your strategy for increasing living standards rather than simply increasing employment?<\/li>\n
- How will you ensure that people rather than the companies receive the rewards of AI?<\/li>\n
- How will you encourage investment that improves productivity and so pay for all people on average and lower pay in this country?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Inflation and interest rates<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
Many households have seen mortgage costs rise sharply.<\/p>\n
Questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n
- Do you believe higher interest rates are always the right response to inflation?<\/li>\n
- How would you reduce inflation without placing the burden mainly on mortgage holders?<\/li>\n
- Would you ever tell the Bank of England not to raise interest rates to protect households with mortgages?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The overall question<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
Perhaps the most important question is this:<\/p>\n
What are the three changes your government would make that would permanently reduce the cost of living for ordinary households, rather than relying on temporary financial support?<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
That is important because it would require Burnham to explain how Labour would tackle the underlying causes of the cost-of-living crisis, rather than merely its symptoms.<\/p>\n
Would he be able to answer that? That is the question we really need an answer to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"