The fourth Conservative prime minister in six years will take office next week, facing a set of inflationary economic and social crises not seen since the 1970s.
Energy bills set to top £3,500 a year for the average household are forecast to push two-thirds into fuel poverty by January, while food prices have leapt at the fastest rate for more than a decade, adding nearly £500 and rising to the average annual grocery bill. Key workers are striking or mulling stoppages, and services from health to the courts are on the brink of collapse. Meanwhile, sewage is pouring into our rivers and beaches, a grim metaphor for the state of the nation taking tangible form.
