As this is the first column I’ve written post-election, I must thank Trudy Harrison for her sterling efforts to drive Copeland forward in recent years, reversing decades of Labour’s managed decline and leaving a tremendous legacy. While standing down was her choice, unlike in my case, I don’t think we’ve seen the last of her!
I also must acknowledge the scale of the loss, with many dozens of MPs and many hundreds of staff now looking for alternative work, it’s the unseen side of a brutal game. Speaking to colleagues, and some Labour MPs who lost in recent years, it’s clear that in being able to go straight into work I’m one of the lucky ones.
But what of our new government, just over a hundred days in? After fighting a ‘change’ election I expected much greater optimism, locally and nationally. Instead, it’s been all doom and gloom.
Compared to our inheritance in 2010, when unemployment was almost 8%, the budget deficit was over 10%, inflation was at nearly 4% and the economy was in deep recession, Labour have been handed a dream.
Inflation was back to target at 2% and falling; unemployment was at almost record lows of 4%; the budget deficit was just 4%, even following a costly worldwide pandemic and the energy price shocks following Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine; and the economy was growing faster than the Eurozone and most other G7 countries But you wouldn’t know it from the tone they’ve struck.
Like Rachel Reeves’ ‘£22bn black hole’, which coincidentally tallies with the amount Ed Miliband has just announced for carbon capture projects on his net-zero mission.
Looking a bit deeper, you can see that £22bn pales into insignificance when you tot up the inflation-busting multi-billion pound pay rises (many backdated) and the cost of increased illegal migration after they scrapped the Rwanda deterrent. Numbers of arrivals have predictably increased, as the vile people smugglers cram more people into every boast, maximising their profit and the danger to life.
The day Labour celebrated 100 days in power, the people smugglers celebrated sending more illegal migrants across the channel in that time, than in the rest of the year prior to the election.
And just two days later, despite the spin by Whitehaven and Workington’s Labour MP, our new Nuclear Minister sounded the death knell for new nuclear in West Cumbria citing pressures on infrastructure and ‘increased delivery risk’ due to Sellafield.
Let’s hope that the budget on October 30th brings brighter news. I won’t be holding my breath though.
