Reply To: The Spike

As someone who walks through the city centre everyday, I’m all too well aware of the amount of homeless on the streets – passing the same people in their same places every, as well as newcomers, you really become aware of the contrast between so much wealth and poverty, esp at Christmas, and on freezing or wet days when rushing to get inside and get warm, passing by people who have to spend the whole day under blankets.

But as others say, the improvement of the urban environment, or once in a lifetime projects like the Spire should not be used to hold up a flame for the disadvantaged in society. This is not where public monies are disappearing. It is primarily an issue of inadequate distribution of wealth on a much larger scale. The recent flagging of possible further tax cuts as a result of an upturn in the economy says it all.