Is it Cake?

I was recently introduced to an amazing TV show where contestants had to guess whether an object was real or was made of cake and icing. It sounds like it should be obvious, but it really wasn't until the knife tried to cut the cake (or the shoe / hat / handbag).

What was clear last week was that the Chancellors mini-budget was anything but cake - except for the very well off and the bankers. Tax cuts for those paid over £150k and removal of the limits on Bankers Bonuses were the key ideas. No doubt benefiting London City, these are supposed to trickle down to Devon somehow.

I do welcome the cap on energy costs for households, but really wanted to hear about how they should be paid for by the energy producers making massive, unexpected profits. A six month guarantee to business is nearly useful, but with no indication of what happens after six months, I fear it won't stop our pubs closing and small businesses shutting up shop. And still nothing for those on heating oil or other fuels either.

I understand the desire to drive growth, but I don't see how anything announced will help there. Investments in renewable energy, insulation or food production would surely be more useful, or even research and development into carbon free technology improvements, better solar panels or maybe even tidal power generation.

But the worst aspect of last week, was the absence of anything about the environment or climate change. Locally South West Water continue to have too many leaks, and too many sewage overflows.

And it looks today like even the financial markets aren't impressed either with the pound plunging against the dollar making energy even more expensive and talk of higher interest rates.

So is it cake? … for those of us in Teignbridge there wasn't very much cake. Looks like the days of having your cake and eating it are here for the London bankers, but not for the rest of us.