money and old rope

Back in the 1960s a bunch of hippy architects and planners had a dream of building a new city out in the countryside, where families could grow up in fresh air, live in clean modern houses and dream of a better future for themselves and their children.  Anniemay and I both came here in the 1970s, as did many of our friends.

This experiment has been, on the whole, a success.  So it’s both heart-breaking and a scandal that the city council has had to declare a cost of living state of emergency because 1 in 5 of its adult inhabitants cannot afford to pay their bills.

The council is run by a Labour/Lib-Dem alliance who were able to count on the support of their Conservative colleagues in taking this step.  An example of consensus politics in action, where the needs of the people come before political ambition.  And a stark contrast to what we see going on in Westminster.  

It appears that the prime minister - after 45 days in office - will be entitled to claim an allowance of £115,000 per year - for life - just for being an ex-prime minister.  Money for old rope, as the saying goes.

Back in the early days of Milton Keynes, many of the people who moved here came from bomb-damaged parts of London.  My friend Neil wrote a song based on the memoirs of one of them - a young woman.  She just wanted “a little more from life”.  Not a lot to ask.  I hope she got it.