Brexit and the politics of austerity

Sir, – When Theresa May took office as prime minister, she promised to help the JAMs, the “just about managing” families.

Many of these families are in work but their wages are not enough to provide a decent standard of living.

Instead Westminster has been embroiled in Brexit disputes to the neglect of all other matters.

Here in Northern Ireland, the two extreme parties do not appear to have heard of the word “compromise”, so education, health, the environment and all the concerns of ordinary people are neglected.

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The United Nations has recently reported on the extreme poverty facing many families in the UK, because of the government’s austerity policies; the most iniquitous is the two-child limit, so that there is no increase in child tax credits and other benefits for a third or subsequent child.

Some 150,000 families are already affected.

Why should a child be refused support because he or she happens to have older siblings?

There should be a national commitment to support children and family life.

We have an ageing population, fewer workers are coming from other EU countries, so we will need a supply of younger people to do the many essential jobs.

Increasing numbers of people are having to use food banks in a country where a recently published “rich list” showed increasing numbers of billionaires. – Yours, etc,

MARGARET MARSHALL,

Belfast.