Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF)’s Post

7 million low income families have gone without essentials like food, heating, and adequate clothing in the last six months. This includes many with coeliac disease who face higher food costs. With the election just a week away, we join The Trussell Trust and 200+ organisations asking our political leaders: where is your urgent plan to tackle hardship? #ouressentials In our latest report, we found that a full weekly food shop suitable for a gluten free diet can be as much as 35% more expensive than a standard gluten containing weekly food shop*. Read more about the challenges and our mission to make gluten free food affordable and accessible: https://lnkd.in/eHv_5qbG *NICE, Coeliac disease, recognition assessment and management. NICE Guideline NG 20, September 2015. Available at: https://lnkd.in/ee2AmcMb

Should he stay or should he go? There is much chatter right now about whether Rishi Sunak is about to call an early election for May, rather than waiting until September or October as expected. Pundits point to the fact that the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced a budget in March as proof that May is now the favoured date to go to the polls. The way I see it, the choice before the Conservatives is simple. If they have any tricks up their sleeve that will sway the electorate in their favour, then they will wait until the Autumn to call an election. It’s no secret that for the Tories to have any chance of winning, voters will want to see real incontrovertible proof that things are looking up – that the cost of living is coming down, that interest rates are coming down, and that the economy is showing some clear signs of growth. So if these shining beacons of positivity are definitely on their way but require some time to play out, it makes sense for the Tories to wait as long as they can before holding an election so that by the time they do so, these figures will look as good as possible. On the other hand, if the Conservatives have got absolutely nothing in their back pocket - and that might well be the case - then frankly it doesn’t much matter when they hold the election because they are going to be whacked over the head by Labour either way. If that is the case then they will simply jump on any sort of unexpected tailwind that might occur from something they have said or done, that could potentially move the dial marginally in their favour. So if a Daily Mail headline screams that five migrant boats have been stopped in the English Channel and suddenly people are cheering from the rafters, that will be the signal for them to call an election pronto so they can squeeze every last drop of goodwill from voters. It’s a pretty desperate strategy but if they really are all out of ideas then it is probably the best they’ve got. For us voters, the situation is therefore clear cut. If an early election is called, it is because the Tories have got nothing even slightly cheery to offer us, and therefore we are all f*cked.

Well, there you have it – the UK is heading for a general election on 4 July! This surprise announcement today from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak means potential changes in regulatory and economic policies  for UK insurers. Current polls suggest a significant shift in the political landscape, with the left-leaning Labour Party poised to form the next government, capturing around 44% of the national vote. Insurers will need to be ready to adapt to any changes and my coverage for InsuranceERM can be found here:   https://lnkd.in/e3cpFaac If you have any thoughts on the matter, let me know in the comments below or contact me at josh.geer@insuranceERM.com . Photo credit: BBC #Insurance #UKPolitics #GeneralElection #InsuranceERM #EconomicStability #RegulatoryChanges #FinancialSector

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s has announced the next general election will take place on 4 July in the UK. WHY? 1.   The UK’s economy has been slowly recovering with an inflation rate of 2.3% in April 2024, the lowest since July 2021, and 0.9% lower than in March which has increased his confidence in his leadership. As one key adviser to Sunak told CNN: “We’ve got a solid foundation to say that things are going in the right direction, and the view was that now was the best time to go to the country and say ‘here’s what we’ve done, our plan is working, now who do you think has the plan and the capacity to take the bold action to move this country forwards towards a more secure future.’” 2.   Despite the prime minister’s MPs rejecting his recently introduced smoke-ban displaying the lack of confidence by his own party, it has been relatively peaceful for the prime minister from the point of view of any scandals. He wants to use this calm before another storm to his advantage. 3.    His principal immigration policy involving initiatives such as “Stop the Boats", to send asylum seekers to Rwanda has become a plan that faced criticism owing to its lack of practicality has slowly started to come into action. 4.    To respond to claims suggesting that he is waiting as long as possible to avoid losing to the opposition as almost all polls are not in his favour of winning the election. 5.    Simply because he did say he would hold the elections this year! Despite the above, the opposition seems to have a different take on Rishi Sunak’s decision to call for a general election now. They believe that the economy is stalling with little to no hope of tax cuts and stagnation of the migration plan owing to its impracticality. Thus, the Conservatives wish to use this temporary recovery of the economy to their advantage. #elections #primeminister #UK #CNN #July4 #Rishisunak #conservatives Picture credits: Open Democracy

🗳️ Yesterday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that the general election will take place on 4 July. The next six weeks will be a whirl of activity as political parties and candidates announce their manifesto pledges, key policies and take their campaigns to constituencies up and down the country. ✅ Stone King has created the election hub as a way to keep individuals and organisations – including charities, education providers, social enterprises, businesses, and faith-based organisations – up to date on the latest news, insights and developments relating to the general election. The hub will be updated as policies and manifestos are announced by the political parties. The aim of the hub is twofold: to demystify the policies and manifesto commitments of the political parties, and to outline campaigning rules. ➡️ Election hub: https://lnkd.in/gTV2kuAj Follow us to keep up to date with election hub updates. #GeneralElection #Election #JulyElection #UKGeneralElection #StoneKing #ElectionLaw

*Not a post about what the General Election result means for the UK property market. (An interest rate cut will do far more to more the market forward) But a summary of thoughts after The Labour Party's landslide victory. We should take immense pride in the peaceful transition of power. The campaign can be ugly, but the dignity and tone post-result reflect well on Britain and its leaders. Rishi Sunak: “𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴.” Call me naive, but I feel empathy for (most) outgoing ministers and candidates on all sides. The biggest disappointment → the lowest turnout since 2001 at around 60%. Politics needs to be more authentic amidst rising lack of trust. That said, I think most people enter it for the right reasons. Complaining from the sidelines is easy → the loudest should put themselves forward before criticising others. Answers to complex problems are not as simple as we think. I’m lucky that my destiny rests entirely in my hands, not any political party, which cannot be said for many around the world. Politics should be about unity, stability and inclusion. Keir Starmer: “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦, 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴. 𝘌𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘳𝘢 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘛𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺.” I wish him and the new government well. Like/comment if you agree. #UKGeneralElection

This article appeared a few days ago. Last night, The Conservative Party lost two more previously safe seats. It is hardly surprising that support for this government is falling away in rural areas. People in such areas are struggling - and they don’t believe 10 Downing Street is listening to them. In financial services, literally thousands of communites have lost all their bank branches and bank ATMs in recent years. People were told “this is progress” - but they look at their local often decimated high streets and feel the lives they knew and wanted are being taken away from them. I wrote to Rishi Sunak again yesterday, drawing his attention to all the problems the British public are facing at the moment in relation to community financial services - and providing concrete solutions. Many of those solutions can be implemented quickly, at no cost to the government. That letter will go to every MP The Conservative Party currently has over the next few days. One specific measure that clearly Rishi Sunak must now implement without delay is legal steps to guarantee the British publics right to use their cash, when and where they choose. Last year, YouGov found that 80% of voters supporting The Conservative Party want such a law passed; a Payment Choice Act. 80% MR SUNAK. The public in EVERY country near to the UK have been given such legal protection to ensure their cash cannot be refused. France and Norway have long had such protection. The Spanish public got it last year. Just last week, the Irish government announced that the public in the only country with which the UK has a land border would also enjoy the right to use their cash, when and where they choose. The UK is now an outlier - and in a very negative and unpleasant way for the British public. There is still time to get this right, Prime Minister. But only just…. Payment Choice Alliance : we support only the interests of the British public. Toby Walne Pooja Shrivastava Sam Brodbeck Lucy Alderson Natalie Crookham Natasha Eve Wynarczyk Harry Wallop Pieter Snepvangers

Many reasons have been put forward for why Rishi Sunak decided to call an early General Election for July 4th, including speculation as to whether this was a calculated attempt to take advantage of a perceived lack of readiness by the SNP and particularly Reform, with both Parties seemingly not prepared for a poll when the decision was being made in May. To date, the second part of the gambit at least appears to have spectacularly gone awry, as Reform continues to surge in the polls largely at the Conservative’s expense. Intriguingly another theory is now starting to do the rounds amongst some Conservative insiders who say that the campaign and Party itself have been desperately short of funds for some time and this was a serious consideration in ‘going early’, so as to avoid running out of money. Anecdotally this theory appears to stand up with reports of increasingly desperate pleas to donors in recent weeks including a huge volume of round robin emails to Party members seeking funds. Regardless of the reason, so far, the decision to go early seems to have been unwise to say the least, with the polls having shifted an average of 4% against the Conservatives since the start of the campaign and the gap between the two major parties remaining constant. Still, there are just under three weeks to go.

More super work from John Authers today: In the UK, there is painful irony in the juxtaposition of inflation and politics. When the Conservatives installed Rishi Sunak as prime minister in October 2022, inflation of more than 10% and the consequent high interest rates dominated all other issues. The aim was to bring it down to the long-term 2% target. Amazingly, it was revealed earlier this week that this has been achieved. There is far more to this than anything the prime minister did, but the way inflation started its precipitate dive just as Sunak took office is mighty impressive (as image shows) This is about as good as anyone could have hoped, and it’s meaningful. The cost of living is still too high for most Britons, but bringing price increases under control this quickly doesn’t hurt. And yet, it seems to have had no effect at all on Sunak’s election chances. News in the UK this week has been dominated by a poll showing he’s on course to lose his own seat in Parliament. That would be a historic humiliation, yet 2% inflation hasn’t helped.