Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Safety net is needed for all those in need
IN reply to Mr Milton, I wake every morning and thank my lucky stars for my life and how privileged I am. I do not understand why he says I am ‘angry and resentful’ about what I do not have; I have never declared such a thing. But I am ‘angry and resentful’ on behalf of fellow citizens who, through no fault of their own, are having a very tough time.
On the contrary, I was one of the fortunate Boomers, right at the inception of the welfare state. We had free healthcare, free education through to post-graduate level, all funded through taxes. We could afford to buy our own home. I had a career I enjoyed and for which I was pretty well remunerated.
I meet people now who are struggling to find or afford a home – either rented or mortgaged, who leave university with astronomic loans, those who cannot find a decent job or are very poorly paid. Some are waiting on an NHS waiting list, some have children in substandard school buildings and some who do not have enough money to afford the bare essentials.
I volunteer at a Food Bank, a charity primarily staffed by volunteers. I have learnt that life can sometimes play wicked tricks. Due to ill health, unemployment, relationship breakdown or just bad luck, a life begins to spiral out of control.
An ‘undeserving poor’ living in a ‘dependency culture’ who make harmful ‘life choices’ is a very helpful narrative for some in this political climate but so far from reality. From my experience, the vast majority of people want to look after themselves, to pay their own way and get on with their lives but sometimes they need some help and the right sort of help at the right time can change lives. Sadly, due to the decimation of public services, many services that were available are now provided only by charities that have to spend much of their time hunting down grants.
So, Mr Milton, it was never my intention to appear ‘pious’ and I would never support a dependency culture but I am concerned for our country. Surely we need a society where we have an accessible safety net for those who need it and real equality of opportunity for all, to enable people to have at least a chance of leading a fulfilling and productive life.
Catherine Pickles By email