Mp's Bleak Warning On Price Rises

[Lou G]

Our local paper today -

The cost of living in Harrogate is set to rocket in 2006 as residents are warned to brace themselves for another whammy of above-inflation price rises.

Harrogate MP Phil Willis said he is worried about the knock-on impact of the impending increases as the town's least well-off - including pensioners, and those on low or fixed incomes - will be hit particulary hard, though everyone's wallet is set to suffer.

This year, residents endured increases in living expenses across the board, with a council tax hike, bigger utlility bills, higher travel costs and petrol reaching a pound a litre on the town's forcourts.

And there's worse to come in 2006 as companies and organisations announce further rises that will leave householders with a bigger headache than usual when new year celebrations end. Some will be up to seven times the rate of inflation, which is around two per cent. "I think the real problem with Harrogate living is that people on fixed, moderate and low incomes pay the price". said Mr Willis.

"The level of bills is going up beyond their means and what we're increasingly seeing is that the people who we need to sustain day-to-day life in Harrogate, who are doing the low paid jobs, are just being priced out of the town, which will affect everybody.

"Unless that problem is addressed fundamentally then what we're going to see is a big shortage of labour in Harrogate", he said, adding that an increasing number of immigrant workers have ahd to be called on to plug the town's labour force gaps.

While many wages in Harrogate remain static, most of the hikes come as residents are still reeling from recent rises in the cost of living.

Harrogate Borough Council have told residents to prepare themselves for a possible five per cent jump in their council tax bill.

Yorkshire water billls rose by 5.5 per cent recently and the company has now revealed rates will go up a further 4.9 per cent in 2006.

N Power gas and electricity suppliers said the cost of gas will rocket by 14.5 per cent and electricity will increase by 13.6 per cent in 2006.

British Gas said customers will have to shell out 14.2 per cent more on their bill in 2006.

Harrogate and District travel which hiked bus fares up an average of 4.5 per cent and up to 10 per cent on some routes in October sadi further increases might well be on the cards in spring.

House prices in Harrogate rose at around double the rate of inflation in the last quarter and experts say there is no sign of a housing slowdown. The average price of a house in Harrogate is now over £235.000.

WHEN articles like this start apprearing in local papers I wonder how long it will take for sentiment to change. The public might start to wake up to the fact that things are not that rosey with the economy.!!

Lou...

[CrashIsUnderWay]

Surely this is just scare mongering? I mean (and I speak for TTRTR here, as he is obviously off adding another 'executive extension' to his latest garret) can't they just 'bus' in the workers from giant shanty towns made of 2nd hand tents somewhere to the west of Leeds?

That way the residents wouldn't have to hob nob with the chav postmen, binmen, policemen, womenmen, shopworkers, ambulancemen etc.

I mean, what is the UK coming to when a PROPERTY OWNER fer chrissake has to rub shoulders with some lowlife scumbulous midget lisping WORKER????

[the end is a bit nigher]

funnily enough, apart from a very nice hospital (with lovely staff who recently delivered my young 'un), the local bobbies, teachers etc etc, there are no big employers in Harrogate

[Red Baron]

+ Employment will shift from the Uk etc to India etc, as a global economy allows lower cost countries to win business away from the expensive Western economies,

It's sad but absolutely true.

We have already seen manufacturing disappear from the UK to China, Malaysia and India, but be prepared to see skilled service industry jobs, like IT, go east as well. My company recently went out to quote for a new e-commerce website. We got quotes of £5-7K from the UK, but we went with an Indian company who produced a marvellous site for £450. The reason is simple; an Indian IT graduate with five years experience charges out at £25 a day - the rate in the UK is around £50 an hour.

Increasingly we will see skilled work migrate across the world to these well educated and hard working people.

[BuyingBear]

"Unless that problem is addressed fundamentally then what we're going to see is a big shortage of labour in Harrogate"

He's a Libdem so he should be pleased about that.

[munro]

Our local paper today -

"The level of bills is going up beyond their means and what we're increasingly seeing is that the people who we need to sustain day-to-day life in Harrogate, who are doing the low paid jobs, are just being priced out of the town, which will affect everybody.

"Unless that problem is addressed fundamentally then what we're going to see is a big shortage of labour in Harrogate", he said, adding that an increasing number of immigrant workers have had to be called on to plug the town's labour force gaps.

And that only applies to Harrogate? These sorts of people - "essential workers", perhaps - are priced out pretty much everywhere. So where are they? Huddled in a commune somewhere in a field in the North-West, getting up at 4am and being bussed to all those nice places full of homeowners?

[right_freds_dead]

And that only applies to Harrogate? These sorts of people - "essential workers", perhaps - are priced out pretty much everywhere. So where are they? Huddled in a commune somewhere in a field in the North-West, getting up at 4am and being bussed to all those nice places full of homeowners?

well they were, but i am talking as many out of it as possible.

let those home owners work as security guards and shopworkers.

on an anecdotal. where my brother worked they bused in guards from middlesborough at £5ph and they lived in 1 house for a week on matresses ect. 5 men and then they were mini-bused back to be with family for the weekend. they were called the battle bus and they were a run down bunch of blokes.

what a life....

[Ferret]

well they were, but i am talking as many out of it as possible.

let those home owners work as security guards and shopworkers.

Well fred earning 40k a year, business worth 450k and rising, what more can I say. How much is a bottle of brandy today ? As a home owner I can`t afford to drink it.

[right_freds_dead]

lets hope so. im selling 80% of it first thing this year. im tired out.

[Fancypants]

on an anecdotal. where my brother worked they bused in guards from middlesborough at £5ph and they lived in 1 house for a week on matresses ect. 5 men and then they were mini-bused back to be with family for the weekend. they were called the battle bus and they were a run down bunch of blokes.

what a life....

spend a week living in Middlesbrough and you will quickly realise that this is rather a bourgeois existence for a smoggy.

He's a Libdem so he should be pleased about that.

he beat Lamont didn't he? Probably wary of the old "15%" folk memory...

[deus ex machina]

Seems to me this particular whining politician is prattling about nothing more than economic reality. Since when has life been anything other than tough? The truth of the matter lies in the fact that the current generation of wannabe consumers/ FTBs seem to want it all without any sacrifice whatever. I bought my first property jointly with my then partner without whose contribution it would never had happened.The mortgage multiplier then (1982) was 3xthe highest income PLUS the second. After bills, we had approx 150GBP between us for the month.It took 3 years of inflation before we started to walk without a limp.

Nothing has really changed except people's expectations which bear no relation to reality.

For most folk the crash, if it ever materialises, will be irrelevant. They simply stay put out of choice or because they cannot afford to move. But stay put they do and nothing happens for a long time until the next 7 year cycle begins.Sure, properties get repo'd and great deals will be there for the taking if you have the the dosh but most gains and falls are so relative as to be meaningless.

The most people can expect from a downturn in the economy will IMO be a return to 2003 prices and that is about your lot. The BTL phenomenon will not trigger the much vaunted apocalyptic collapse because they have an inherent value which would easily be soaked up by public housing needs.

Recessions are gloomy tedious affairs crippling the unfortunate minority but seldom anything more than a temporary inconvenience for most.

[SarahBell]

It's sad but absolutely true.

We have already seen manufacturing disappear from the UK to China, Malaysia and India, but be prepared to see skilled service industry jobs, like IT, go east as well. My company recently went out to quote for a new e-commerce website. We got quotes of £5-7K from the UK, but we went with an Indian company who produced a marvellous site for £450. The reason is simple; an Indian IT graduate with five years experience charges out at £25 a day - the rate in the UK is around £50 an hour.

Increasingly we will see skilled work migrate across the world to these well educated and hard working people.

And the sad thing is unless your website has international reach then you've wasted that £450 as you've not put money into the uk economy for uk peeps to spend.

[CrashIsUnderWay]

a-frikkin-wooga to 'deus ex machina'. Come on. Own up which one of the usual clowns are you? And who taught you to spell deus ex machina

Edited December 31, 2005 by CrashIsUnderWay

[29929BlackTuesday]

I worked as an actor in Harrogate Theatre for many a show and I can tell you that apart from the techies and staff at the theatre the general concensus was that the residents were @@@@s.

Actually most of the audiences (and money in the region) come from the Americans working for the NSA up in Menwith Hill (Hi Bill!) - now they were a BRILLIANT bunch of people - wonderful.

Harrogate is very expensive - at one point we had to get drunk in the dressing rooms BEFORE hitting the town in our 'Hurrah we're actors!' way. Ah the old days....

If anyone saw Return to the Forbidden Planet there in 2002 then they were lucky enough to see me giving my Aeriel.

[Fancypants]

Actually most of the audiences (and money in the region) come from the Americans working for the NSA up in Menwith Hill (Hi Bill!) - now they were a BRILLIANT bunch of people - wonderful.

ah so true. However, going out with one as the US geared up to invade Iraq was not conducive to a successful relationship.

[29929BlackTuesday]

ah so true. However, going out with one as the US geared up to invade Iraq was not conducive to a successful relationship.

Yes - I can imagine! Still, at least it was just an intellectual impasse not the worry of seeing him/her going off in a matching green outfit and a bang-stick.

I can see you two now - eyes meeting across a crowded radome - you say "Hi my name's...." he/she says " I already know, I've been tapping your phone".

Is it me or is Betty's Tea Room actually like a Little Chef but with doillies?

[Fancypants]

Yes - I can imagine! Still, at least it was just an intellectual impasse not the worry of seeing him/her going off in a matching green outfit and a bang-stick.

I can see you two now - eyes meeting across a crowded radome - you say "Hi my name's...." he/she says " I already know, I've been tapping your phone".

Is it me or is Betty's Tea Room actually like a Little Chef but with doillies?

chortle!

(for the record, it was a her - I am a he... not that I'm against... er, you know... mutter mutter change subject)

from what little I managed to discern during our brief time together, it was quite frightening what they were capable of. I was thoroughly vetted, I'm sure of that (and found wanting due to my pinko anti-war views).

Of course, before anyone gets paranoid or conspiracy theoried up, one should remember that the NSA don't have the resources to waste time on checking up on everyone - I only got looked at because I was declared as a significant other of someone working in a sensitive position there. It fascinates me to think how much they were able to find out about me though.

[Lou G]

Is it me or is Betty's Tea Room actually like a Little Chef but with doillies?

Went past today and they were queing round the corner to get in.! Cannot believe how busy that place is.!!

Us, we went to Victoria House where you can get a bacon sandwhich for £ 1.85 - sorted.!!

Lou..

[deus ex machina]

a-frikkin-wooga to 'deus ex machina'. Come on. Own up which one of the usual clowns are you? And who taught you to spell deus ex machina

What on earth are you drivelling on about?

Edited January 1, 2006 by deus ex machina

[Fancypants]

Is it me or is Betty's Tea Room actually like a Little Chef but with doillies?

Went past today and they were queing round the corner to get in.! Cannot believe how busy that place is.!!

Us, we went to Victoria House where you can get a bacon sandwhich for £ 1.85 - sorted.!!

Lou..

the contrarian wins again!

Much like on Call Lane in Leeds last night, where some in our group were instinctively drawn toward the bars that had the largest queues. Thankfully we were able to shepherd people in the direction of the other, equally good but less over-subscribed places.

[deus ex machina]

bump

[CrashIsUnderWay]

troll

[crash co-ordinator]

It's all gonna go T1T5 up!

[Red Baron]

And the sad thing is unless your website has international reach then you've wasted that £450 as you've not put money into the uk economy for uk peeps to spend.

You clearly have a limited understanding of how websites work.

It matters not whether a website is designed in India or Timbuktoo for that matter; so long as it is hosted by a reputable provider and is registered with the major worldwide search engines it will have international reach and will, as in our case, sell UK products globally thus providing a net benefit to our economy.

What a strange comment you have made.