Before we begin – caveats, qualifications
It’s not my aim to foist my opinions on anyone, I can only relate facts in an even handed way as possible and rely for the greater part on statistics. The data I’ve used is largely from the Office of National Statistics Winter 2017 report , but be aware statistics can and do get revised. The ONS announced a major overhaul of historic data in July 2016. The best way to view them is as trends rather than absolute truths. ‘There are lies, damn lies, and statistics’.
My background is in Business and Commerce. I used to be an Accountant of sorts, specialising in small businesses, which leads its exponents toward pedantry. Accountants always err in favour of caution; being boring is a skill.
Ten years later I abandoned Accountancy to put my skills to better use, but didn’t abandon my fascination with Business and Commerce. From running my own business, I accidentally moved into the challenging and risky world of the Commercial Business dealing directly with, amongst others, large corporates and the public sector across the UK. Over two decades later have not yet escaped. All of humanity lives here and I think in my time I have met them all.