It's Not Over till it's Over!

Published in Stockport Express on Wed 23rd Sep 2009

The pundits are starting to say the Recession is over. That's not how it feels to many Stockport families - especially those with young people at home seeking work, or struggling with a mountain of debt.

At the last meeting of "Stockport Boost" I was very pleased to hear that serious effort is going into helping the town's jobless school-leavers. The College is working hard, and there is even a plan for an extended work-experience scheme by local employers. Good though that is, we all know that there is no substitute for real jobs, so it is very disappointing indeed that on top of record youth unemployment figures we now know that 630 highly skilled local jobs are to go at BAe Woodford.

Whatever the City of London has to say about the recession being over, it's clear Stockport Boost will have plenty to do for a long time to come. The recession isn't over till it's over.

Meanwhile, it's Party Conference season, and the commentators are on the lookout for the "Wow Factor" - and the banana skins - that will set the scene for next year's General Election. Here in Stockport we had our own political Wow Factor last week when voters overturned the Conservatives' majority in Cheadle and Gatley, and gave the Liberal Democrats a 620 vote majority instead.

That astonishing Liberal Democrat win is a reminder that the next election isn't over till it's over, either. And that Tory banana skins are to be found quite close to home.

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