Seven Children by Danny Dorling

This book takes a novel approach to examining how one in three children live in poverty in the sixth richest country in the world. That country is the UK. Building on his previous book, Shattered Nation, Dorling drills down to see how seven stratas of British children are impacted by the poverty and inequality so rampant here. The seven fictional characters each represent two million children. They do not though include the top privileged seven percent. Dorling's seven were born in 2018, when the UK faced it's worst inequality since the 1930s and became Europe's most divided nation. They turned five in 2023, amid a devastating cost of living crisis. The children, Anna, Brandon, Candice, David, Emily, Freddy and Gemma, each represent a day of the week. So the poorest Anna is Monday. She is brought up by her mother, who receives £10,608 a year. That breaks down as £204 a week or £118, once housing costs are taken out. At the high end is Gemma, who represents Sunday, with a disposable income of £51k a year. The characterisations are an effective way of examining child poverty, though some are more roundly drawn than others. Housing costs play an important role in impoverishing every child. Dorling points out how 40 years ago the private rented sector was very minor - just 10% of adults rented privately. Rents were low. Since then, the selling off of council houses and removal of rent controls means that housing has become a huge drain on families across the board. Today, one in nine people are buy to let landlords. The sector has become a parasitical device for enhancing inequality in society. The book is full of shocking facts, like that one in seven children grow up in homes too cold because their parents cannot afford to heat them. Children in 9% of UK households lack access to the internet and one third don't have at least one week a way each year. Some 43% of adults in the UK don't pay income tax because they don't earn enough (£12,500). Even the height of five years olds is falling in the UK, while increasing in Germany and France. These impoverished children cannot afford to go out, so avoid parties. They cannot afford to buy presents. A killer stat for those opposing extending child benefit beyond two children is that families of three plus children make up 75% of the poorest two fifths of the population. Removing the limit would cut poverty at a stroke. Dorling's analysis of an incredibly unequal country is as excellent as ever. He warns of a country on the slide, with gross inequality stuck at these same sort of levels for the past 30 years. The UK was most equal in the mid-1970s. The very rich continue to prosper, whilst the lot of the poorest and everyone in-between continues to decline. It is an unsustainable construct. Some of the solutions are simple and obvious, such as filling the 648,114 empty homes in England. Dorling points out that if all the rooms available in Britain were shared out equally, no child would have to share a room Second home owners could be made to pay more. Dorling asserts there are enough homes to go round if equitably distributed. So there is not a need to build all over the place. Rent controls should return. He suggests investing in the care sector, rather than construction. Dorling discusses Universal Basic Income, which is being proposed in Wales. He recommends stronger trade unions, so better pay. The outlawing of zero hours contracts and the like. All of these things can help make the country more equal. What Dorling really does in Seven Children is deepen his previous analysis of inequality, with the focus on children. They are the future of the country yet at present are being forced to take the brunt of a bankrupt neo-liberal system that deepens inequality, poverty and human suffering. It cannot go on. Published by Hurst Publishing £14.99

Local people want answers on the fate of much loved pub

The fate of the George pub still hangs in the balance - it remains up for sale. The pub has remained busy over the summer months, drawing in people across the generations. The pub's leaseholder Wetherspoons have not been particularly communicative, since putting it up for sale earlier in the year. I wrote to Chair Tim Martin but received no reply. Then, contacting customer services (customerservices@jdwetherspoon.co.uk) in June, I was told the pub remained up for sale and that the 3,200 strong petition calling for the pub to remain open had been considered by the Board. No more since. Local people though remain concerned. The George has been a great community asset over the years, drawing in people from across the generations. Elderly people may go in for a drink, something to eat and to stay warm during the winter. Youngsters come in, often in large numbers, for cheap food and drink. A variety of community groups meet there - including the Wanstead Beer Festival organising committee. It is a vital resource for people on their own - many is the story told over recent months of those just going for a bit of company, somewhere to read the paper, have a reasonably priced pint and maybe a chat. Many people are genuinely distressed that the pub may not be there anymore. On Wetherspoons side, it must all be about profit. The George cannot be making enough money. Wetherspoons after all is a business, not a social service, but at the same time it does pride itself on community engagement. It does listen to customers. Over in Stoke Newington, the Rochester Castle pub was similarly condemned to closure but there was a strong local campaign to keep it open. Wetherspoons reconsidered - the pub remains open. People in Wanstead are as concerned as those in north London to keep their pub open. A campaign titled Save the George is gaining strength all the time. What they want to know is what is required to get Wetherspoons to reconsider it's decision to sell? There has been speculation around the lease but nothing concrete from Wetherspoons. Pubs have been closing all over the country. Wetherspoons have closed some pubs but also opened new ones. The George remains a popular local venue, where people of all generations can mix and get reasonably priced food and drink. The staff at the George are excellent. People don't want to be told to go somewhere else, like the Walnut Tree in Leytonstone. So surely the time has come for Sir Tim Martin and the Wetherspoons board to seriously engage with the local Wanstead community. Tell them what is going on and above all what is needed to keep this much loved pub open.

Erling Haaland 3-1 West Ham

This game at the London stadium could be summarised as Erling Haaland three West Ham one. Whilst Manchester City were the superior side throughout most of the 90 minutes, Haaland was the vital difference between the two sides. West Ham started brightly, pushing on, denying the visitors space. Jarrod Bowen saw an early effort parried out by City keeper Edison Then, a slick move involving Josko Gvardiol, Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish, ended with Haaland heading over, with the goal at his mercy. But that was a warning of things to come. Lucas Paqueta wastefully gave the ball away to Bernardo Silver, whose threaded pass was finished by Haaland. De Bruyne then saw a shot go wide and hit the post. Against the run of play, Bowen got off down the right, to fire a low cross over, that was diverted into his own net by Ruben Dias. But it wasn't long before City were back in front, a slick move across the area that began with Grealish, ended with a Rico Lewis lay off for Haaland to fire home into the roof of the net. Haaland then turned provider putting through Lewis who fired high and wide. West Ham's final effort of the half saw Mohammed Kudus fire wide, after latching onto a cross field ball from Edison Alvarez. Kudus was quickly out of the blocks after the break, accelerating clear to find Bowen, whose return pass saw the little Ghanaian hit the post. Kudus then conjured a chance for Tomas Soucek in the centre of the area but he fired weakly wide. The final act from Haaland came when Matheus Nunez put him clear to fire home. A late effort at a consolation saw Crysencio Summerville's shot pushed onto the post by Ederson. West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui felt his team started very well "but did not score in the moment." Manchester City punish teams, who don't take their chances. "We need to be more solid, if we want to win these sort of matches," said Lopetegui, who saw good things in the team as well Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola felt Haaland played an unbelievable game, not just the goals. "Everyone played really good," said a pleased Guardiola.