Number 10 must get to work, and fast

Dear Liz,

We can’t quite believe it, but it seems you are about to be appointed prime minister.

And yet you have not put forward any credible plans to improve the lives of people on low or uncertain incomes.

Particularly so when it comes to the impact of energy price rises.

There is genuine fear about the way bills are increasing. Businesses will not survive. There is no time for pussy-footing around or obfuscation.

A package of support is required that goes way beyond the inadequate £400. This must be urgently addressed.

We know you worked for Shell before entering the political fray, but you will need to show leadership by being tough on the big companies that are holding us to ransom.

Your response must match the scale of the crisis we have before us.

We doubt very much you are able to be aware, but Camden’s housing system is in total disarray.

Estate lifts are broken for weeks. Low-level repairs simply aren’t carried out. Damp and mould is rife. Tenants’ mental health is severely affected by this.

Those who complain are routinely ignored. Local authorities must be given a huge injection of cash to keep the housing stock in order.

We cannot go on with the current system of new social housing being built only when major developments are approved.

During the pandemic you were joining in the pots and pans doorstep banging for the NHS workers and carers. What will you do to help them now? Cuts and charges are likely on your watch.

We wonder whether you still agree with your own words in the think tank report you authored 10 years ago: “Back to Black”.

It called for the introduction of NHS charges for everyone – not just for those who missed bookings as Rishi Sunak is proposing now – that you said would “lead to a reduction in demand and in turn save the NHS the costs of providing unnecessary service”.

Extreme weather – the recent flooding and prolonged heatwaves – show that environmental fears are no longer just about a conceptual future.

Things are changing fast. Will you start taking environmental campaigners seriously? Or will your legacy be that you did nothing until it was too late?

And what of the postal workers on strike this week? There may be more strikes coming down the line from unions that are, until the Labour Party grows a spine, the voice of the opposition.

Strikes are an inalienable right. Forget about your plans for anti-union legislation.