Life

Marie Louise McConville: Cost of living the big issue for families this election

Political parties need to tell us how they intend to help working families with the cost of living crisis
Political parties need to tell us how they intend to help working families with the cost of living crisis Political parties need to tell us how they intend to help working families with the cost of living crisis

So, it's that time again folks when a steady stream of strangers come knocking on our doors, asking us to put our trust in them to sort this country out.

If representatives of the political parties haven't yet rung your bell, I can assure you, they're coming.

With just weeks until the ballot boxes open, the campaign will soon go into overdrive.

Of course, the vast majority of householders don't see these people from one election to the next but you don't have to be a member of Mensa to work out that the cost of living crisis is top of the agenda this time around for many.

And when my door has been knocked these last few weeks, I've had just one question to ask - what exactly is your party doing to help working families like mine survive in the current climate?

Like many, we receive no benefits or fuel payments.

We get no help towards childcare and we have no luxuries - no smart TVs, no games consoles, iPads, Netflix, Amazon Prime or Sky.

We pretty much don't really socialise at all because it's so expensive and yet we have to stretch our wages, in the face of rampant inflation, to cover all rising costs.

I'm sure we're not the only ones who have no choice but to cut our cloth to meet our budget and that's just what we do.

When pay day comes, we budget out the essentials for the month and with rising fuel, energy and food prices, the cost of doing this rises each month.

We've seen our grocery shop rise by just over £80 these last few months.

Diesel has skyrocketed and last month, our childcare costs saw an increase.

But what can we do?

We can't do without food, we depend on the car and we rely on childcare, if we are both to continue working.

It has certainly made for some very anxious times and quite a few sleepless nights - because things are only going to get worse.

So, what I want to know is what do the political parties intend to do to help people like my family and the thousands of others like us who are out working and struggling, just as much as those on benefits.

It's very simple, if you want parents to work, the government need to provide some help with childcare costs.

In addition, working families feel the cold just like everyone else, so we also deserve a fuel payment.

Life is absolutely being sucked out of working families in this country.

Trips to the cinema and the ice-cream parlour are quickly becoming a thing of the past. What we have now are parents struggling to heat their homes and feed themselves and their children.

So, if you're coming to my door in the coming weeks to canvass for my vote, I suggest you bring your armour.

I'm ready to do battle - so who's first?

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I was really saddened this week to learn of the death of soap legend June Brown.

The 95-year-old, who played chain-smoking, laundrette worker, Dot Cotton in EastEnders for 35 years, died at her home in Surrey with her family by her side.

She last appeared in the soap in 2020, before leaving at the age of 93.

The actress has been remembered as "purely and simply an incredible woman who had the most incredible life and career".

It's sad to think we won't see Dot Cotton back on the square.

Thanks for the memories June.

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TV presenter Cat Deeley has revealed how she intends to wear her young kids' teeth as chic jewellery.

Now I know that I can sometimes be a little bit quirky but 45-year-old Cat, who is married to Co Down comedian Patrick Kielty, intends to wear six-year-old Milo and three-year-old James's teeth - around her wrist.

Speaking on The Sheerluxe Show podcast, the former SMTV star shared her unorthodox plans for a special bracelet.

The TV personality revealed she plans to dip the baby teeth in liquid gold before wearing them as jewellery.

She said she first thought of the plan when her youngest child, Milo lost a tooth.

"The tooth fairy came. But she had very little small change and had to give notes," she said.

"So I am like, 'What am I going to do with this tooth?'."

Cat, who formerly presented `So You Think You Can Dance?', said she has asked London-based artist Connor Joseph to design the bangle.

"I'm going to get him to dip the teeth in gold and attach them one by one to my bracelet. They will dangle and it'll look nuts," she said.

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Competition Winners

The winners of the A Taste of Deceit competition are Mary Conway, from Downpatrick, Ann Mellon, from Ballygawley and Charles Kelly, from Belfast