“Hold your nerve…” Is that seriously it?
At a time when interest rates are rocketing skywards and smacking hundreds of pounds a month onto mortgage payments for families across the country, that is the best the prime minister of the UK can come up with?
Well, that and: “Trust my plan”. It would help, of course, if Mr Sunak could tell us what the plan is. What wizard wheeze has he got up his sleeve to keep his promise of halving inflation by Christmas to help bring interest rates down?
Many homeowners are staring into a financial abyss – one that was opened up by Mr Sunak’s remarkably inept predecessor Liz Truss when she thought it would be a good idea to crash the economy.
But all Mr Sunak can do now is parrot empty phrases in a jumble of words that add up to the square root of nothing. They certainly don’t add up to some bold vision we can all get behind. That takes leadership, a quality the current prime minister is singularly lacking.
For pity’s sake, he couldn’t even turn up to back a vote condemning Boris Johnson for being a proven liar who debased the highest office in the UK. This was a matter for individual MPs, according to the current PM, and not for him to tell his MPs what to think or do.
Really? So, it’s perfectly fine for Johnson to have lied, then attacked the foundations of parliamentary democracy and justice while going full Trump on Westminster, is it?
Wait a minute, didn’t Mr Sunak waltz into Number 10 promising “integrity, professionalism and accountability”? When’s that going to start, then?
And, in the middle of all this, ordinary folk are left with a sense of helplessness reinforced with hopelessness.
Food bills are going up week on week – have you seen how much a tin of beans is these days? Inflation is running riot and putting a wrecking ball through household budgets. The gap between the haves and have-nots is widening on a daily basis.
Surely it is time for Mr Sunak to finally do the right thing and call a general election so we can rid ourselves of this spectacularly disastrous government?
Underlining all of this is Brexit – the disaster that just keeps on giving.
We can all see things going to wrack and ruin in front of our eyes. Why can’t the people who are supposed to be running the country realise that?
Instead, they seem too busy sticking the knife in each other. For heaven’s sake, there were even mumblings about bringing back the aforementioned absolute roaster who is Liz Truss.
There is no serious leadership, no tangible attempt to help ordinary people. The Tories are too busy jockeying for position to be the next leader of the opposition.
Surely it is time for Mr Sunak to finally do the right thing and call a general election so we can rid ourselves of this spectacularly disastrous government? And that’s the time when everyone in Scotland truly does need to hold their nerve – and vote for a better future for ourselves and the generations who come after us.
Hare we go!
We’re in for a colourful summer, and one that should see people haring across the north-east to catch the spectacular sculptures which will form The Big Hop Trail.
This is the splendid innovation that will help Clan Cancer Support celebrate its 40th anniversary, by installing 40 six-foot hares across the region, after they have been transformed into masterpieces by talented artists. A sneak preview of one of the hares – Night and Day by Bryan Angus – shows just how much creativity will be at play.
It’s a brilliant idea that will raise awareness – and funds – for this wonderful charity that does so much to make a difference in so many lives.
Not only that, it underlines the transformative power of art, bringing a splash of colour and vibrancy to places across the city and further afield. Personally, I can’t wait to see Stonehaven’s hare put in place down at the harbour.
Of course, the hares are following a trail already established by previous such projects, such as the lighthouses, which were so popular back in 2021 and ended up raising £324,000 for Clan.
Once the trail is officially launched on July 2, there’s only one thing to do. Hop to it
That saw families spending the summer “bagging” the sculptures in their different locations, creating a real air of excitement and a plethora of social media photos and posts that underlined the fun everyone was having.
So, once the trail is officially launched on July 2, there’s only one thing to do. Hop to it and give Clan Cancer Support the boost it deserves.
Scott Begbie is a former journalist and editor for The Press and Journal and Evening Express