The Thin End

 I do love a cup of tea.  My mum liked a cup of tea too.  Whenever we returned from shopping or some other activity, visiting friends, etc. she would immediately say "Let's put the kettle on and have a nice cup of tea!"  In those days, the 1950s, it was always Co-op 99.  Co-op 99 is relevant to this story because it was the first branded tea in the UK to become 'Fairtrade.'  But what price our cup of tea?  Joanna K Photography According to the Tea and Infusions Association, in Britain, we drink an estimated 165 million cups of tea a day or over 60 billion in a year.  That's a lot of tea.   There is only one country that drinks more tea than does the UK - Ireland.  In the UK, tea varies in price from £1.10 for a Tesco's own box of 80 tea-bags to £2.40 for a branded variety, such as Typhoo.  But, whichever you choose, very little of it finds its way to the tea pickers in the fields of India, China, or Africa.  The lion's sh...

Tory scourge of the unemployed,  Iain Duncan-Smith is at it again. Now he urges the government not to bring in a universal income during the pandemic because it would 'be a disincentive to work'.   One really does wonder which bit of the planet he lives on! But he has form with this.  His view of those on benefits is that they are mostly shirkers.  He was one of the Tories that relished the prospect of cutting benefits to the 'workshy' poorest. A clue to his attitude came many years ago from a comment made by Duncan-Smith in an interview with Nick Robinson on the BBC. Speaking of people on benefits, he said "I want to change your life..to be a better person'.  This clearly reflects a view held about those on benefits: they are not 'good' people. At best it represents an inadvertent viewpoint 'look we want to help you back to work'. At worst it reflects a deep-seated attitude that stigmatises those on benefits as 'work...

Shocked into action by the potential mortality from the coronavirus pandemic, governments around the world are acting to release huge sums of money into their economies.  Today, the UK chancellor announced that he was making available over £330 bn to support businesses during the crisis.  This is by far the biggest ever peace-time intervention in the economy.  It is right that governments should respond.  Millions of lives depend on them doing so.  But it should make us think about whether we have been getting our priorities right in the past, and whether we are now doing so.   Poverty kills just as relentlessly as does the coronavirus.  It attacks the most vulnerable.  Yet, the government invests too little in preventing it.  This has been particularly so over the last decade, where both child poverty and pensioner poverty have increased.  Poverty comes in different ways.  A report two years ago showed...

The opinion polls give the Tories a significant lead over Labour.  A big question is whether Jeremy Corbyn can reconnect with voters during the general election campaign.  Some might argue it is Boris Johnson's to lose, but Labour has a case if it can get its message across. Whether Labour can win or not, it is right that the party should challenge the richest to make a fair contribution to society. The Tory media attack Labour's tax policies, but their difficulty is they cannot now attack Labour's spending programme.   The Tories have also offered more public spending.   That has to be paid for. The Tories offer tax cuts to the wealthiest; Labour is more honest.  Spending plans have to be paid for, and the budget deficit dealt with.  Labour is right to target inequality. The UK has a very high level of income inequality compared to other developed countries.  Yet, the poorest are the ones who have paid for the greed of bankers. Poverty in the...

More concerns are being expressed about the impact of a no-deal Brexit.   Top UK retailers are having urgent meetings with the government expressing their concern that a no-deal Brexit will lead to food shortages.    Commenting on the newly released Yellowhammer documents, Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “The Yellowhammer document confirms what retailers have been saying for the last three years – fresh food availability will decrease, consumer choice will decrease, and prices will rise. This isn’t good for the British public and this isn’t good for British retailers." The retailers say a no-deal Brexit in November represents the worst possible timing for the retail industry and for consumers.  They warn that warehousing availability will be limited as retailers prepare for Black Friday and Christmas, many fresh fruit and vegetables will be out of season in the UK, and imports will be hampered by disrupt...

When the Tories returned to power in 2010, backed by the LibDems in a coalition, they imposed an austerity programme of cuts in spending. That programme is said to come to an end today, with the announcement of a new expenditure round by Chancellor Sajid Javed.  What was 'austerity' to achieve? It achieved very little for the many, and it drove so many into poverty, homelessness and debt. It forced people into poverty wages and zero-hour contracts. It closed libraries up and down the country. It has driven local authorities towards bankruptcy, with failing social and children's services.    The government said it was aimed to 'cut the deficit', but austerity was always more than pure economics. It was fundamentally political. They did more than impose cuts across the social sector. They created a narrative of the 'undeserving' and the 'deserving' poor. The Conservative Party adopted an aggressive set of  campaign advertisements targeted a...