[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by Maggy

We will see eventually.Frankly I'd rather this government got back together to discuss the present cost of living debacle.

Exactly. Seeing unexpected poverty in his home town, Gordon Brown has now stepped in to highlight the situation.

Gordon Brown 'seeing poverty I did not expect to see again' as he warns people will go hungry and cold within months

Former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown said he is campaigning heavily on the cost of living crisis because he is seeing poverty in his hometown, Fife, "that I did not expect to see ever again in my lifetime".

People will have to go without food and be unable to heat their homes by October if the government doesn't take urgent action on the cost of living crisis, Gordon Brown has warned.

Speaking to Sky News, the former Labour prime minister said he was seeing poverty in his hometown, Fife, "that I did not expect to see ever again in my lifetime", as he took aim at the Conservatives' policies.

Mr Brown branded the party's windfall tax as "stupid", claiming the opt-outs included in the tax brought forward when Rishi Sunak was chancellor reduced the value of the tax from £15bn to £5bn.

Demanding further intervention from the government, he set out his own vision for dealing with the cost of living crisis, including changing the windfall tax, a cap on energy bills and reforming the benefits system.

But he ruled out his own return to frontline politics, telling Sky News: "When you're out, you're out."

Mr Brown said he is campaigning heavily on the cost of living crisis because he is seeing poverty in his hometown, Fife, "that I did not expect to see ever again in my lifetime".

He said charities are stocking up on duvets, sleeping bags, hot water bottles and blankets "because they know that people can't afford to heat their homes any more".

Meanwhile, faith groups are "thinking of opening their church halls as heating hubs so that pensioners, instead of freezing at home, can have a warm place to go to"

https://news.sky.com/story/former-pm...tings-12668291

---------- Post added at 10:23 ---------- Previous post was at 10:10 ----------

Cutting civil servant roles appears not to be the quick win it is made out to be by Truss and her followers

Plans to axe 91,000 UK civil servants would ‘cut public services’

Review of Johnson plan finds reductions would hit multiple government functions, say Whitehall insiders

Government plans to axe up to 91,000 civil servants over three years will require deep cuts to public services and cost at least £1bn in redundancy payments, according to a Whitehall review.

Boris Johnson in May unveiled plans for the near 20 per cent reduction in headcount, and in June said he could “prune” back the civil service to 2016 levels “without harming” frontline services

However, government insiders said a review by Steve Barclay, his former chief of staff, had found otherwise.

They added that the Barclay review had led the Treasury to “go cold” on Johnson’s plans after the emergence of the full upfront cost and impact on public services.

One government insider said the proposals to axe 91,000 civil servants would involve “serious cuts” to staff at HM Revenue and Customs, Border Force and prisons. “And you couldn’t protect jobs outside London,” added the insider.

Although estimates were not finalised, another Whitehall insider said a figure of £2bn had been discussed as a working assumption on the cost of compulsory redundancy payments.

The UK’s departure from the EU has required the expansion of the Department of International Trade to negotiate trade deals, while Britain’s post-Brexit immigration regime has increased demands on immigration and Border Force staff.

https://www.ft.com/content/95fbb2f3-...f-60b2ad170ee9