Cartoon by John Sadler www.johnsadlerillustration.com

• IT is extraordinary how austerity has become a bad habit – even to those who suffer its dire consequences.

The hard-pressed decimated police are now asking us to tell them to what problems they should prioritise. And one of the possible issues is a crackdown on begging, (Organised begging syndicate ‘sending team to Kentish Town’, July 18).

Our once proud institutions and services are shrugging their shoulders and saying: “What can we do? There’s not enough money”. And we in turn shrug our shoulders and say: “There’s not enough money.”

Schools are losing staff, never to be replaced. Youth clubs have closed down. Pensioners’ clubs too. Every week brings more shrinkage in our community’s quality of life.

We live in one of the richest cities in the world. We are the fifth richest country in the world. And yet the much-vaunted trickle-down is nowhere to be seen.

“What can we do?” Let’s stop wringing our hands in despair and boot out those who have promised an end to austerity without the least intention of delivering it.

And never mind trickle down, let’s open up a gush of cash from those who grab more than their fair share. That might do wonders for the begging problem as well.

EF WILSON
NW1