One of the consequences of the UK’s impending departure from the European Union is that EU funding to the UK regions will come to an end. With the Treasury still determined to reduce the budget deficit, there had been widespread fears that the EU monies would not be replaced. But the Conservative manifesto, in particular, has come up with a surprise.

Brexit, Scottish Independence, the future if the United Kingdom itself; not to mention the continuing threat of global terrorism, the environmental crisis, the rise of Trump, and continuing sluggish economic growth: not for generations has there seemed to be so much at stake as we head into a British general election. The ramifications of who we collectively elect on 8 June are indeed significant, and the election manifestos of the main parties now tell us how they will deal with some (if not all) of these issues.

Universal Credit (UC), the Government's flagship welfare reform, is in difficulty with 'bad news' stories about it abounding. It has been criticised for having fundamental design flaws, such as the absence of effective data sharing between the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and social housing landlords, and the requirement for new claimants to wait at least six weeks for their first benefit payment.