Help out, Rishi
IT’S a defining week for Rishi Sunak, whose mini-Budget on Wednesday comes just as the cost-of-living crisis really starts to sink its teeth into household budgets.
As he puts the finishing touches to his Spring Statement, the Chancellor might care to read the troubling testimony by a fellow Tory MP, whose constituents lay bare a “real gut-wrenching fear” of destitution.
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Mr Sunak has been unlucky in his tenure at No11, buffeted off course first by a pandemic, then a global fuel supply crisis, exacerbated by Russia’s invasion.
And it is worth remembering that we could be far worse off, if not for his deft handling of the Covid economy.
He has earned the benefit of the doubt — but needs to rise to the occasion again.
There are promising omens: Mr Sunak has put practicality over dogma by being open to fracking, and hints he will ease tax thresholds, and cut fuel duty to help with surging pump prices.
But tinkering with a penny a litre here and there won’t help. Even a 5p cut would pale in comparison with the 12.5p a litre France announced this month.
Rishi is adamant he can’t completely shield households from economic pain. That may be true, but they need him to dish out all the anaesthetic he can muster.
Amazing grace
USING grace-and-favour Government residences as sanctuaries for Ukrainian refugees is a no-brainer.
If more than 150,000 ordinary Brits can find space in their homes and hearts for those fleeing Putin’s slaughter, then sprawling official estates such as Chequers should also play their part.
There are a few London pads recently vacated by Russian oligarchs that could surely house more worthy occupants too.
Bobby on bleat
A POLICE officer complaining that a high-speed pursuit with flashing blue lights made them car-sick, another’s mum calling in to complain her daughter had been sent out on an “upsetting” job.
It sounds like perfect sitcom fodder but these are real stories from a whistleblower at the West Midlands force.
With such coddled coppers, it’s no wonder criminals are having a field day.
The Sweeney? Sweeney Toddler more like.
Lust a minute
OXFORD boffins say the most effective method to get through domestic chores is to assign them a three-minute window.
Our writer Georgette Culley puts the theory to the test, with one task on her to-do list being sex.
We know some male readers may gulp at a 180-second bonk schedule: how on earth to fill those extra two minutes?
Best brush up on the small talk, fellas.