Only action will dispel the doom and gloom

Hello everyone and, as the schools go back, I hope you've managed to have a well-deserved break.

Many of us are worried that we are about to swap the glorious sunshine of summer for an autumn of unremitting gloom. There's no question that we are facing a prolonged period of huge financial challenges and difficult decisions to be made.

We now have a new Prime Minister, and there's a lot in her in-tray to deal with. For me, her number one priority must be to confront the cost of living crisis.

And make no mistake, it is a crisis. Soaring inflation and fuel costs are threatening to deliver another national emergency, just after we've got through two turbulent years of COVID.

How this is tackled will determine whether residents are forced to choose heating or eating, whether businesses go bust through a combination of rocketing costs and fewer customers, and whether vital public services will collapse under the financial strain.

We've just concluded a 'big conversation' with local residents as we begin the process of working up our budget next year. It's very clear that people are concerned about the budget gap the council faces, which currently stands at £20 million but will certainly widen in the months ahead.

And talking to local businesses, particularly those in hospitality, I know they are deeply worried about how they are going to get through the next six months.

In July, we launched our new strategy to help people - especially those most in need - with the cost of living and to stave off poverty. This ranges from help to buy school uniforms to giving £100 payments to those on pension credit. For more details about this, go to Council launches new cost of living and anti-poverty strategy (My Newsdesk).

But there's only so much that a council can do, with shrinking grants and increasing demand for services. The big answers must come from the top.

We've heard a lot from the Government in recent years about 'levelling up'. That means things should be improving, not getting worse. If that phrase is to mean anything, it means that strong action must be taken now before this upcoming autumn of gloom becomes a winter of serious discontent.