One can only hope sanity prevails

Forecasts for the economy make gloomy reading, when along with the Bank of England the Office of National Statistics let it be known that the economy is forecast to shrink by 0.25 per cent by 2023. Unemployment will they say rise to six per cent before the next general election and energy costs are surging by at least 40 per cent.

Some say that interest rates will rise to above 10 per cent, while others are more optimistic, believing it is unlikely.

The country is facing ‘challenges’, which the government is tackling in an orderly manner.

It supported individuals, businesses and crucially the NHS during the pandemic, well beyond what anyone expected or in many cases deserved.

We now face financial, food and fuel poverty, and a cost-of-living crisis due to Russia’s war in Ukraine, when reserves are rock bottom.

Whitehall is underperforming on delivering passports, driving licenses and supporting the Home Secretary in her bid to stop traffickers sending immigrants across the English Channel. Now, civil servants are considering going on strike.

Individually, elephants can be charming, intelligent, and gentle but when gathered in a herd, instinct can make them unreliable, unhelpful, and often dangerous.

University lecturers should be ‘feeding’ young minds – not striking.

Union barons should be ensuring their members work to keep the ‘wheels’ of industry and transport running smoothly.

The economy is fragile, but dissidents across the country in various professions seem hell bent on bringing the country to a standstill –resulting in delays for students’ graduations, empty supermarket shelves, shutdowns on railways impacting on supply chains and petrol stations running dry.

Farmers, along with essential workers, do not strike and never will.

We produce food to feed the nation, care for our livestock and preserve and maintain the countryside.

It is time as Lord Sugar put it, ‘for everyone to get off their lazy backsides’, or as Norman Tebbit would say, ‘get on your bike’.

We must pull our weight and work for Britain, not against it, and demonstrate we all care for our country and our children’s future.

Unions threatening strike action are pathetic and ill timed. One can only hope that sanity prevails.

Meanwhile, Macron has offered a socalled ‘olive branch’ in the shape of a ‘European political community’. This is certainly not something to be considered.

Hang in there, Boris!

■ To read Carola’s columns in full, go to: carolagodmanirvine.com

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