September-a month of challenges

 Lots of things on the horizon, the return of school from Monday, the appointment of our next Prime Minister as Summer officially ends.

 

The one common denominator it seems is the need for a super hero to deal with things from moving up a form or finding new friends as you transfer school with lots of children from schools you don't know and new staff you have no idea about.

It seems to me that any incoming prime minister might well be forgiven for feeling they might given just extraordinary our times are, living with covid, the war in Ukraine with its fall out, the crazy, worrying climate change and the whole "cost of living crisis".

Quite possibly the biggest set of challenges for any generation post WW2 that affect not just private individuals but also industry, agriculture and commerce.

Dealing with Stagflation - that sticky mix of stagnating economy and rapid inflation all in one mix - has no easy cure as the requirements for each part are very much the opposite of each other so there's a chicken and egg argument between "experts" and academics over which to start with with all to real human consequences.

The recent announcements on the Energy Cap permitting cost rises up to 80% are a huge worry for individuals that go beyond even staying warm and having a hot meal but into the very food we buy and remember business has no cap so get the full rise as soon the companies apply it.

Expect some announcements with combinations of removal of "green taxes", possibly value added tax and other taxes with direct assistance for groups most impacted by it.

Help for business I'm less sure of although cases can be made for hospitality and energy intense manufacturing and all of this may need to run beyond six months

Think we need Bat Girl myself!