London (CNN)Beloved healthcare services in crisis Inflation plunges Britain into a miserable summer I'm spending It surges, running out of taps and stopping trainswhile the government is nowhere to be seen.
} Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the National Health Service Confederation, said in a statement, "We face a terrible choice between skipping meals to heat our homes or living in cold, damp places. It's possible," he said. It's a very uncomfortable situation.These outbreaks will hit just as the NHS is likely to experience its most difficult winter on record."
The highly unusual intervention
As inflation surpassed 10% earlier this week, the An even greater burden is being placed on families who are already struggling to make ends meet. The country is on track to enter a recession and GDP is expected to continue to shrink through the end of the year and beyond.
In addition to the economic woes, transport and dockworkers are on strike, warning of further industrial action across the public and private sectors. Even some lawyers in criminal cases have gone on strike, causing chaos in already crowded courtrooms.
But outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson is on his second vacation of the summer. When asked why Johnson hasn't returned to London to come up with an urgent action plan, Downing Street says a major spending plan should be taken by the next prime minister.
Johnson He will be replaced by current Foreign Minister Liz Truss or former Finance Minister Rishi Snak, whose resignation triggered the eventual downfall, but will not take office until 5 September. It's been almost two months since Johnson announced he was stepping down. Mr Johnson quickly resigned, ignoring calls to allow the new leader to get down to the task of governing.
The next prime minister will not be elected by the British people, but by members of the ruling Conservative Party, who are believed to make up less than 200,000 people in a country of some 67 million people. .
This is completely constitutional. In the UK, voters elect local councilors. The party that won the most seats, and with any luck the majority that had to pass a bill in parliament, would request the monarch's permission to form a government. By convention, the leader of the party becomes prime minister.
In 2019, Johnson won a majority of his 80 seats in Congress. It has dwindled since then, but the Conservatives still have a majority and are still able to rule.
So given the urgency of the situation, why should Johnson are allies saying the next prime minister should take action to provide financial support to those struggling amid the cost of living crisis? The fact that it can tackle a myriad of problems.
A government spokesperson told his CNN: They will continue to arrive in the coming weeks and months to help those struggling with the rising cost of living.
But critics across the political spectrum believe this is not enough and that more decisive action must be taken now.
Leader Conservative MP Daniel Kaucinski, who backs Truss in the election, believes the party should end the election early and either appoint a new prime minister or give Johnson powers, given the severity of the situation. there is act now.
“The race has dragged on too long, now is the time for leadership. We have to empower our leaders to take action or the contest will come to an end.The British public rightly expects us to deal with this crisis," he told CNN. .
In a harbinger of what could be a scathing criticism of the government in the future, Labor MP Chris Bryant told CNN, "Johnson is acting now on the cost of living crisis. It is a mixture of laziness and complacency that keeps them (the Conservative leadership candidates) from taking action.”
This week, the opposition Labor Party Called for an immediate recall of Congress, allowing lawmakers to take immediate action to freeze an energy bill that nearly doubled in October after regulators raised supplier price caps.
In a letter sent to Johnson and the two leadership candidates, Labor shadow leader in the House of Commons, Tangham Debonair MP, called on the Conservatives to "constitute Parliament on Monday 22 August. We will be able to restart early and freeze the energy," he urged. We are currently setting a maximum price.
She said next week the UK energy regulator will "announce an increase in the energy price ceiling. Against the backdrop of inflation rising to 10.1%, this will hurt households." Not only will it send us into a further spiral of fear and push for more cuts for the winter, but it will have another impact on our economy. I can't wait to wake up."
Energy price caps are backstops implemented by governments to prevent energy companies from overcharging their customers.
CNN reached out to Downing Street and several senior government officials seeking comment on the proposal, but did not receive a record response at the time of publication.
Given the seriousness of what is about to happen to this country, even Johnson's former allies
neither of the potential leaders have taken concrete steps to address what. The cynics say that any solution would require huge public spending.
And because public spending on such a scale is not possible. e simultaneously explained its pledge of urgent tax cuts and its refusal to raise taxes on large corporations, including energy companies, to provide funding to weather the crisis.
But it won't be long before Johnson's successors have to answer a wider group of critics. First, their political opponents in Congress. Then the wider public at the ballot box.
With dire warnings being issued every week, inaction could be the final mistake that will cost the Conservatives the next general election. And after more than a decade in power, it will be difficult to get the public to forgive him for falling into crisis by sleepwalking. 73}