By Una Murphy, Publisher
Our latest issue of VIEW magazine on the Cost of Living crisis makes for very difficult reading, given the scale of the problems. As journalists, our challenge was to find ways to highlight a situation that’s in plain sight and is now part of lexicon of the English language. A dictionary definition of the cost of living is: “the amount of money that people need to spend in order to buy basic goods or services such as food, clothes and a place to live.” The new ‘normal’ is that many people struggle to afford a roof over their head, food for their families or winter coats for their children.
There is no doubt that there is a crisis, and that action is urgently needed. In a representative democracy politicians need to be told, in no uncertain terms, to take action NOW over the Cost of Living crisis. It is very clear what needs to happen to make things better.
There is a real fear out there, reflected in the interviews in this edition of VIEW and in events run by campaigners and experts about this crisis. The poem by Henry Normal ‘Where Once The Post Brought Promise’ will resonate with people.
But there’s also defiance.
In this edition of VIEW, you will find the stories of people courageously standing up to speak out about the Cost of Living crisis, despite the struggle. Campaigners like our guest editors who have stood out in the cold, as well as in the corridors of power, to say: end this hardship.
VIEW editor Brian Pelan and myself would like to thank the guest editors of this edition: Andy McClenaghan, Public Affairs, Policy and Communications Lead at British Association of Social Workers Northern Ireland, Dr Ciara Fitzpatrick, Lecturer in Law at Ulster University and Siobhán Harding, Women’s Regional Consortium, as well as all the contributors to this edition of VIEW magazine.
• Go to https://issuu.com/brianpelanone/docs/cost_of_living_crisis_view_magazine to read our latest issue.
