EACH week we are hearing of large numbers of jobs going and reports of big retail names and businesses going into administration and facing possible closure. HMV, House of Fraser, Marks and Spencer’s, Debenhams, John Lewis. These are just some of the big-name retailers in crisis.

The situation in retail is fast turning into a national crisis impacting on many other sectors such as distribution and food manufacturing. If we saw this level of job losses in many other industries we would be seeing high level government action. However, the government remains apathetic at best.

The government is wrangled in party politics that is consuming them to the point of tearing the Conservative Party apart and threatens to divide the country even further. While we have record levels of homelessness, child poverty, a crisis in social care and evidence that universal credit is contributing to the rise of people using foodbanks the government lurches from one crisis to another. Organisations like foodbanks, charities and trade unions are showing leadership where the government is failing.