ABSTRACT
In 2009, during those bright beautiful early summer days that so perfectly capture the idyllic nature of the English countryside, the metaphorical storm clouds were gathering. During the middle of an economic recession there was a huge political scandal unfolding every day in our papers. The scandal of politicians and their expenses reverberated around the country and led to a feeling of scepticism and mistrust. For some politicians the plight of the poor and the need to address child poverty, and the entitlement of every child, has clearly not been at the front of their minds. Public confidence waned rather faster than usual, and it occurred to many of us that politicians who spend so much of their energy pursuing personal gratification at the taxpayers’ expense do not have much understanding of a world in which many of our children are growing up.
