Fergus Finlay: It’s not a cost of living crisis — we’re in the early stages of a huge battle

Government needs to bring us together, or the consequences will be devastating

Barnardos revealed that half of the parents they work with have had to cut back on social activities for their children; more than a quarter have cut back on heat; almost a quarter on electricity, and more than a third have had to cut back on clothes.

THIS is a battle, not a crisis. According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, a crisis is a turning point or a decisive moment — sometimes a time of danger. A crisis demands immediate and decisive action if it is to be dealt with properly — and that action will nearly always be short term in nature.

The Government has dealt with the cost of living debacle as if it were a crisis. “Look at what we did,” is their most frequent refrain. And they did stuff, there’s no doubt about that. If this was a crisis, the stuff they did would have made a difference.