New Stour & Avon, June 30, 2023 13
stouravonmagazine.co.uk
Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher
We need an election without delay My first job after leaving school was for a building society. After several months on the counter, I was moved to work in the mortgage department supporting borrowers who were unable to pay their bills and were facing repossession. Throughout the period leading up to the recession of 1990, inflation had risen steadily from 3% to 5% and interest rates rocketed to around 10%. The country went into recession and many people were struggling. In the last few months, many people who pay a mortgage have seen several increases in their outgoings, to add to the hikes in prices for food, fuel, and other outgoings. On the face of it, with interest rates now much lower than 30 years ago, the situation is not as critical, but this fails to tell the whole story. Back then, people were able to buy a home for three times their salary. They needed a deposit of just 5% which for a first-time
buyer would equate to around six months’ salary and as fixed rate mortgages did not arrive until 1989, we would all factor in what payments would be if rates increased knowing it could (and probably would) happen on a regular basis. If you roll that forward to today in Dorset, the average salary is £34,000 but a typical twobed house somewhere between £250,000 and £350,000. Of new borrowers over the last five years, 96% have taken a fixed rate deal. Even with this cursory look, the numbers no longer add up. One third of the population owns their home outright, and one in six rent from the council or other social landlord. Together that’s nearly half of households. They are completely unaffected by rate rises as are those on fixed rates and those renting from private landlords (though they see the problem looming over the hill as fixed rates end and tenancies are reviewed).
Dorset Lib-Dems VIKKI SLADE The idea behind using interest rates as a lever is to slow spending. It suggests we are all throwing our money around like the infamous ‘loadsamoney’ character by Harry Enfield in the 1980s. But this simply is not the case – especially for the cohort of people most affected by this device. Once you factor in student loans
Scheme saves £96m The local government reorganisation scheme in Dorset has saved more than £90million since 2019. Dorset Council, the unitary authority which was created by amalgamating five district councils and the former county council, announced that the total saving was £96million in four years. The savings were achieved by bringing together similar services, reducing duplication and costs, increasing efficiency, and reducing the number of councillors and senior officer roles. The council says that savings made to date have been reinvested into essential frontline services, and claims this has protected them from cuts, and focused on sustainable local services
HOTEL TRAVEL VILLAS
reducing net income, the massive cost of childcare and energy bills at their highest level, it is obvious that 20th century solutions simply will not work for this very modern problem. To hear the Prime Minister suggest we should ‘hang in there’ and that he is ‘100% on it’ shows just how out of touch this government is. As we enter the 13th (unlucky for some) year of this government they are out of ideas, out of touch and out of time. More radical thinking is needed, more honesty about how we got here and most importantly a change of government. They may not have all the answers, but we cannot keep limping on, one by-election at a time, dramas and scandals emerging round every corner, public sector workers striking for a fair deal. We need to rebuild trust; we need to regain energy and we need to press the reset button and have a General Election without delay.
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Monday 24th July
Jurassic Coast Tour .....................................................................................£24
Wednesday 26th July
Sound of Music at Chichester Festival Theatre ...................... (coach & ticket) .......................................................................................£69
Wednesday 26th July
New Forest Show (coach & ticket) ..............................................£33
over the longer-term. “This includes children’s social care, road maintenance, libraries, housing, planning and adult social services,” said the council. It added that many of the savings had been driven by its transformation programme, which has redesigned services with the aim of providing a better experience for residents and more efficient operations with lower costs. It projects there will be a further £17.4million saved over the next three years.
Thursday 3rd August
West Bay & Lyme Regis ....................................................................£24
Saturday 5th August
Portobello Road, London ...................................................................£25
Tuesday 8th August
Afternoon Tea Tour ..............................................................................£29
Thursday 10th August
Abbotsbury Gardens & Swannery (coach & ticket) ......£33
Sunday 13th August
Oxford ..........................................................................................................£24
Wednesday 16th August
Dorchester Market & Weymouth ...............................................£14
Thursday 17th August
Sidmouth & Donkey Sanctuary ..................................................£24
Friday 18th August
Eastbourne ...............................................................................................£29
Sunday 20th August
Cardiff ..........................................................................................................£26
For details or to book: 01202 767022
gill@lagunaholidays.com www.lagunaholidays.com