Opinion

Patricia Mac Bride: Action needed now to get people through winter

This year there are more pop-up school uniform swap or low-cost shops taking place in schools and community halls than ever before as households face soaring bills
This year there are more pop-up school uniform swap or low-cost shops taking place in schools and community halls than ever before as households face soaring bills This year there are more pop-up school uniform swap or low-cost shops taking place in schools and community halls than ever before as households face soaring bills

You could set your watch by the media stories about the cost of kitting out children for going back to school.

Every August there is a flurry of stories about the cost of uniforms and the inadequacy of the school uniform grant. Coupled with that are the stories of the schools with notions, who insist on branded sportswear, expensive blazers and, in some cases, iPads for pupils.

Each year we listen to calls from the Children’s Commissioner and anti-poverty advocates for a two-fold approach that will reduce costs but also increase the options for parents to purchase at different price points.

Like many people who grew up in or around Magherafelt, I recall the annual summer trip to Peggy Conway’s house in Golf Terrace and the rummage for a skirt or a blazer amongst piles of donated uniforms. Peggy was always at the sewing machine tending to split seams or sewing on missing buttons to give something another turn. A few pounds for Action Cancer would get you kitted out, with the bulk of the uniform grant then going on shoes and gutties.

This year there are more pop-up school uniform swap or low-cost shops taking place in schools and community halls than ever before because so many more people just can’t afford to put a brave face on it. The brief flicker of nostalgia I felt recalling that this is how I was kitted out for school soon disappeared when the reality hits home of just how many families are struggling to make ends meet.

We have an energy crisis and an inflation crisis and we are facing into a winter where fuel poverty and the cost of living only look set to spiral.

It’s only seven weeks until the first of October when the weather traditionally changes and families will face greater demands on their heat and energy consumption. Action needs to be taken now to ensure there are sufficient energy reserves to get through the winter, and that people can afford to stay warm.

The time to do something is now, so that when the autumn rolls around, the supports that people need are in place. It is too late to be coming at that stage saying “oh what shall we do?”

The contest in Britain for the leadership of the Conservative Party is an illustration of just how badly traditional politics is handling the crisis. Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak both studied economics at Oxford. Truss advocates tackling the cost-of-living crisis by cutting taxes in order to stimulate growth, whilst Sunak’s approach is to proceed with caution and provide support to those in greatest need. In terms of the economics, they can’t both be right, but this is being lost in a battle for position amongst two former cabinet colleagues.

Tax cuts to fund economic growth aren’t going to buy school shoes that are needed for the start of September, or top up the oil tank before winter. It is inevitable that some forms of payment to those in need will have to be developed.

Crucially, the delivery mechanism needs to be put in place to help people who are struggling to access financial support. That includes making sure the Universal Credit system can cope with any additional payments that are generated.

It also means getting the executive at Stormont re-established so that funds sitting in the pot can be disbursed. It is pointless calling on the Tory government to do something about the cost-of-living crisis if we don’t do something ourselves first with the resources available to us. Yes, I am looking at you, DUP.

Acclaimed Irish Actor Liam Cunningham tweeted this week: “The rich have forgotten to be afraid of the poor.” There is certainly an element of truth in that when we look at the Tory leadership contest and how far it is removed from real life.

Part of the problem too is that the poor do not have a champion and have struggled to unite against the common enemy of vested interests.

The moment Keir Starmer sacked a Labour member for standing on a picket line and supporting the rail workers strike, the party lost the last hope of being able to galvanise the working class vote in Britain and it was inevitable that a movement would emerge to fill that void.

This week we saw the launch in Britain of the “Enough is Enough” campaign with purpose of channelling anger at the financial crisis into action. The organisation has five demands: a real pay rise, slash energy bills, end food poverty, decent homes for all and tax the rich and big businesses.

It is supported by a number of trade unions and NGOs, with the publicity campaign fronted by Mick Lynch of the RMT union, as well as Labour MPs Zarah Sultana and Ian Byrne.

It is not clear yet whether the group intends to organise public rallies or events in the north but if it does, we should reasonably expect that all our political parties will support the campaign, given that Westminster still holds the purse strings.