Number of people using Trussell Trust (biggest but far from only group of food banks) has gone from 25,000 in 2008/9 to 2,500,000 in 2020/21.
A relatively steady incline before anyone thinks Covid or even Brexit.

I guess nothing has changed though. Its all Tony Starmer's fault.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/382695/uk-foodbank-users/

Dedication's what you need.

The political editor at Byline Times has been describing Gove’s Levelling Up report over on Twitter.

I’m not saying Michael Gove struggled to find things to put in his 'Levelling Up’ white paper, but he’s devoted three pages to the history of Jericho, Rome and Renaissance Europe.

And it’s true, he has.




And, er … even that only pads out the pages because he’s repeated sentences.

While I’m at it, this came from Labour MP Darren Jones earlier today. Comparing the goals from the levelling up report with the goals of the Industrial Strategy which it is supposed to replace. THEY’RE THE SAME. Gove is clearly one of those boys who copied other people’s homework at school.

Aye, you’re right. A fair few of those replace commitments with platitudes.

Remember, in 2010 Labour left a note saying they spent all the money.

If you're against this idea, you hate Britain.

Its been a year since his daughter effectively killed him has it?

Fuck, looks like everything’s about to kick off over NI. Stormont saying that they’re stopping checks on goods going to the UK due to legal advice. I can only assume that the legal advice has come from Downing Street.

Let's break international law so the EU can be the enemy again!

Yossarian wrote:

Fuck, looks like everything’s about to kick off over NI. Stormont saying thoat they’re stopping checks on goods going to the UK due to legal advice. I can only assume that the legal advice has come from Downing Street.

Aye. Poots is the minister who is calling this move is in serious diffs locally. Has been fucked over in pre May election moves in the party (DUP) and hasnt a constituency to compete in at present.. There's a fair bit of posturing mixed in with this.playing to the squealing hardcore.

So the Levelling Up thing apparantly contains some plans first announced by Gordon Brown.

MattyJ wrote:

Off the top of my head, since leaving the EU food prices have risen, energy prices have risen, fuel costs have risen...

My LIDL shops haven't risen a lot in that timeframe (granted, the future's always coming), and my electric's gone up steadily since I moved here in 2012. I only need to heat a 20x22' space with ground-source, and can't say I've noticed much of an additional bump in recent years. And I say that with an income around £15k.

(Was really surprised to hear the average is something like 38, by the way. My sister's quite a high ICU band with a degree and further training, and that's about 30, so I would've guessed 28.)

Fuel's by far my biggest increase, but that's mainly because my old car needs E5, which is now the same price as 99 used to be, while E10's now at E5's former price. I can't think of a power group who'd criticise rather than endorse that revised pricing model? Especially with a banger's borderline emissions.

I'm obviously not saying that prices aren't rising (they undeniably are), nor that our leave deal wasn't trash, but I don't think it's a big enough change yet to repel leave-voting Tory supporters in droves.

It's maybe going that way, but my IRL social groups aren't blaming the Tories for it. Plus, that Savile dig was crafty from Johnson. As I mentioned recently, nothing plays to his working-class supporters like a nonce hunt.

Was the crux of my comment and what I meant for consideration, but I should've been clearer.

My Starmer beef's a birds of a feather thing, that's all. Not quite as much needle in it as it seems. Like, we've now a community shop with about a dozen volunteers, but I'm more of an outsider than ever. Nothing in common with their lifestyles, and that's generally how we mix.

I'd be more accepted if I volunteered, but here's the rich irony: only if I kept my socialist beliefs to myself. The newer villagers are mostly nice people, but I'll never belong with them because they know which road I live in (the single ex-council) and what I do, and that's too high a compatibility hurdle. As if there's an unsaid rule that I don't deserve to be here, despite being OG.

Cooorrrbyn almost bridged us, but too many bought the smears. As they'd have bought them about McDonnell, or any other leftwing leader. Starmer's probably not inherently evil or owt, but he's going after a contracting middle.

The cargo cult of Blairism, who overlook Blair's shrinking majorities the more we actually saw of it. Tons of people didn't vote for Blairism in '97, but socialism. And that's why Corbyn's 2017 result almost matched his record.

LivDiv wrote:

Number of people using Trussell Trust (biggest but far from only group of food banks) has gone from 25,000 in 2008/9 to 2,500,000 in 2020/21.

I guess nothing has changed though. Its all Tony Starmer's fault.

I never said that things aren't noticeably worse on a five- or ten-year scale, just that Starmer won't fix any of it, and so any small reductions he might bring would go unnoticed by many.

Miliband wouldn't have stopped benefits sanctions, for example (on record), so foodbanks would've still spread on his watch. Indeed, sanctions were Labour's idea.

I'm not saying that most of you shouldn't vote Starmer to ease your adversities. Simply that you're part of that contraction above me, and too little done now will eventually come for you unless you keep climbing. Our current choice is between dabbing the brakes for a slower crash, or jumping out. And there's a steering wheel!

It's a choice I feel shouldn't be made without regret there isn't a leftwing option (unless you're an out-and-out bastard, but then you can just vote Tory). And it depresses me that several of you still think this Labour is good. Which is the main reason I'm so annoying in here.

So unless a new leftwing party comes along, which I'd love, the schadenfreude of seeing Labour's scabs taken down is all I have to hope for. My Portillos; choo, fucking choo. Leave me me pens!

I'll try and shut up until that day comes now; let your pro-Starmer comments fly without niggling at me. You're certainly all clear on my feelings about this Labour, as you were when I said that Owen Smith and then later Starmer would fail as leaders. Time'll tell if our future falls on Blair's side again.

Excellent piece from Chakrabortty:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/02/a-tale-of-two-towns-one-in-the-north-one-in-the-south-exposes-the-lie-of-levelling-up

Anyone who believes Starmer is a nonce shielder surely also bought into Corbyn being a terrorist sympathiser. They will also believe whatever tripe is dreamt up about a leader of a 'true leftwing' party.