The name Somerset might conjure images of apple orchards, winding lanes and ruddy-faced country folk.
However, the towns of Taunton, Yeovil and Bridgwater contain 19 wards which rank in the 20% of areas most deprived in England.. Writes Dave Clarke

Britain is Broken - General Election Now

Open Letter from The People’s Assembly Against Austerity

We are living through what, by common consent, is the worst governmental crisis for decades. The prime minister is unable to secure party, let alone, parliamentary support for her Brexit deal and despite the economic and political crisis facing our NHS and public services, manufacturing sector and those facing further attacks on our welfare state, little other business is being discussed in the House of Commons. May’s authority has been destroyed by her own party with more than a third of her own MPs demanding she resigns as leader.

John Rees on why the coming demonstration on the night of the Brexit vote could be the beginning of the end for the Tory government

The British Parliamentary system is about to experience its most significant crisis since the start of the Iraq war. Theresa May has already lost three votes on the floor of the House of Commons and looks set to lose the critical vote on her Brexit deal by a considerable margin.

As a NHS psychological therapist, I’ve seen a lot of people adversely affected by austerity, our crumbling public services, the heartless benefit system and the pernicious effect of privatisation on jobs and wellbeing. People come to see me because they’re distressed and suffering. Too many feel a failure, broken and useless. They individualise the social, political and economic systems adversely affecting them as their own failure. It is heart breaking writes Karen Buckley from Manchester People's Assembly

In one of the most deprived areas in northern Europe people have had enough writes Jim Scott, convenor of Pembrokeshire People's Assembly

Pembrokeshire in West Wales  has been hit hard by Austerity. The local hospital was already under threat before 2010 but with year-on-year cuts to Welsh Government budgets it now looks like the Health Board are going to press ahead with plans to close the A&E department and then eventually remove all essential services from the hospital, we have already lost our paediatrics department.

While Theresa May is busy trying to convince us all that austerity is over the view from America is not so rosy.
The New York Times can see plainly what the Tory government (and so much of the British media) cannot see: austerity is killing communities the length and breadth of the land.