They say the youth and those in their early 30s are deluded in their optimism. I figured that, after such seismic change in the way we travel, work and socialise, and after all the clapping for NHS workers, viral pictures of wild boars on Italian streets and goats in Welsh villages, we would be granted some truly revolutionary economic package on emerging from lockdown to reflect our new attitudes to life. Perhaps a universal basic income. A Green New Deal.

How wrong I was.

There was nothing in the summer economic update this week for the worse-off. Nothing for the domestic violence victims, despite a surge in the number of women being killed or abused during lockdown. Nothing for social care or frontline workers. Nothing for nursing homes, no bonus for NHS staff. Nothing for renters, thousands of whom face eviction. The hostile environment continues for migrant workers.

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For all the big numbers from Rishi Sunak, it was much ado about nothing.

The government likes to claim our debt and deficit are high and both must come down if our economy is to function and provide the services we need. Yet we are currently experiencing zero or near-zero interest rates across the developed world. Borrowing might never be as cheap as it is now. And if we dont borrow and invest that money in the people, sectors and businesses that need it most, the cycle of poverty will simply continue.

What Sunak has delivered is a one-size-fits-all approach. A 500 voucher to encourage spending! A 1,000 bonus to employers for every furloughed employee they take back! And Tories say they fear the free hand-outs of socialism.

Trickle-down economics is clearly also alive and well. The government believes that by cutting VAT and stamp duty for houses worth up to half a mil, that richer people will have more money to spend and that will benefit everyone else. We know that doesnt work. The rich just get richer, and move as much cash as they can offshore.

And what about the Green New Deal? The green part of the package is worth 3bn a drop in the ocean and 2bn of that will be dished out by local authorities to retrofit homes and make them more energy efficient. It sounds like a lot of money, but that 2bn has to be divided by 343 local authorities. Sunak said this would remove a half megaton of carbon from the atmosphere, the equivalent of taking 270,000 cars off the roads. But there are almost 40 million cars on British roads, so excuse me for not jumping up and down with excitement.

I had imagined moving back to London and cycling my bike in the new cycle lanes and enjoying some kind of new, green urban utopia. Instead, the government opened car showrooms as soon as they possibly could. Talk about recklessness: thousands of people die in London alone every year from air pollution. Sometimes I walk down my local high street and want to bang my head against a wall as I spot an endless stream of vehicles. I get this funny aftertaste in my mouth as I gulp down the fumes; the noise drills a hole in my brain. I wonder, why do so many people not seem to care?

Chicldren play in the water during a cricket match between Abinger and Worplesdon & Nurpham in Abinger Hammer, Surrey

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People gather for the funeral of Dame Vera Lynn in Ditchling, England. During World War II she travelled to the frontlines, including Burma, entertaining British troops and boosting morale. She died on 18 June at her home in West Sussex

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Artist Anish Kapoor looks into his sculpture 'Sky Mirror' at Houghton Hall, King's Lynn, ahead of the opening of his largest UK exhibition of outdoor sculptures

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Players take a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement on the first day of the first Test cricket match between England and the West Indies at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton

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A circus performer from the Association of Circus Proprietors in Whitehall, London. The association handed a petition to Downing Street to ask Prime Minister Boris Johnson to allow circuses to reopen

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Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland, which re-opened to the public after being closed due to the coronavirus lockdown

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People visit Columbia Road Flower Market, London, as it reopens following the easing of coronavirus lockdown restrictions across England

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A member of bar staff wearing PPE in the form of a face mask, pours drinks inside the The Goldengrove in Stratford

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Cardboard cutouts of fans in the stands prior to the League One play-off semi final match between Portsmouth and Oxford United at Fratton Park

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A diver cleans the inside window of the seal tank at Tynemouth Aquarium in North Shields, as it prepares to open on Saturday after further coronavirus lockdown restrictions are lifted in England

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Slackliner Sandor Nagy practices on the beach in Boscombe, on the south coast of England

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(left to right) Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald, former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, and Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill attending the funeral of senior Irish Republican and former leading IRA figure Bobby Storey in west Belfast

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Former Team GB Rhythmic Gymnastic dancer Hannah Martin during a training session at Ouse Valley Viaduct in Sussex

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People visit Bolton Abbey in Yorkshire, that recently reopened following the easing of coronavirus lockdown restriction

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A protest for Justice for Shukri Abdi on Trafalgar Square in London, following a raft of Black Lives Matter protests across the UK

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Police at the scene of an incident at the Park Inn Hotel in central Glasgow. Scottish police said armed officers shot dead a man after a suspected stabbing in the city centre left six others injured, including one of their colleagues. Several roads were closed and the surrounding area was cordoned off

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A horse is washed down at Haydock Racecourse

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People enjoy the hot weather on Margate beach

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Tony Bennett the owner of The Devereux pub in Temple, London. Pub and hospitality bosses have cheered the Government's proposals to allow customers through their doors again on July 4 as "a welcome relief". PA Photo. Picture date: Tuesday June 23, 2020. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that pubs, restaurants and cinemas will be able to reopen from July 4, with "one metre-plus" distancing measures in place

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Police forensics officers carry out a search near Forbury Gardens, in Reading town centre, the scene of a multiple stabbing attack which took place at around 7pm on Saturday, leaving three people dead and another three seriously injured

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Soccer Football - Premier League - Everton v Liverpool - Goodison Park, Liverpool, Britain - June 21, 2020 Children play football outside the stadium before the match, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

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Arsenal's midfielder Nicolas Pepe kneels before the Premier League match against Brighton and Hove Albion at the American Express Community Stadium in southern England

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Bianca Walkden during a training session at the National Taekwondo Centre in Manchester

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French President Emmanuel Macron gestures about social distancing alongside Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he arrives at Downing Street for a meeting. Macron also visited London to commemorate the 80th anniversary of former French president Charles de Gaulle's appeal to French people to resist the Nazi occupation during World War II

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Players kneel, as well as, having 'Black Lives Matter' in place of names on their shirts prior to the start of the Premier League match between Aston Villa and Sheffield United at Villa Park in Birmingham. The league resumed after its three-month suspension because of coronavirus

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Motakhayyel ridden by Jim Crowley, right, wins the Buckingham Palace Handicap during day one of Royal Ascot. This year, the flat racing's biggest meeting, is behind closed doors due to the coronavirus outbreak

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Queues form at Primark at the Rushden Lakes shopping complex after the government relaxed coronavirus lockdown laws significantly, allowing zoos, safari parks and non-essential shops to open to visitors

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A man kneels at a commemoration to mark the third anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire in London. The fire claimed 72 lives on 14 June 2017

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Protesters confront police in Whitehall near Parliament Square, during a protest by the Democratic Football Lads Alliance

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A Black Lives Matter supporter sings to crowds who marched with her in front of the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square in London. The death of an African American man, George Floyd, while in the custody of Minneapolis police has sparked protests across the United States, as well as demonstrations of solidarity in many countries around the world

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Scouts show their support at the Lord Baden-Powell statue in Poole. The statue of Robert Baden-Powell on Poole Quay is to be placed in "safe storage" following concerns about his racial views

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Social distancing markers around the penguin enclosure at London Zoo. Staff have been preparing and are now ready for reopening next week with new signage, one-way trails for visitors to follow, and extra handwashing and sanitiser stations in place

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Protestors hold placards and shout slogans during during a protest called by the Rhodes Must Fall campaign calling for the removal of the statue of British imperialist Cecil John Rhodes outside Oriel College, at the University of Oxford

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The Edward Colston statue has been pulled down by Black Lives Matter protesters in Bristol. Colston was a 17th century slave trader who has numerous landmarks named after him in Bristol

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Children pose for their family in front of discarded placards fixed on a wall in Piccadilly Gardens after a Black Lives Matter demonstrations in Manchester. The death of an African-American man, George Floyd, while in the custody of Minneapolis police has sparked protests across the United States, as well as demonstrations of solidarity in many countries around the world

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Protesters kneel in Trafalgar Square during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in London, England. The death of an African-American man, George Floyd, while in the custody of Minneapolis police has sparked protests across the United States, as well as demonstrations of solidarity in many countries around the world

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Protestors march from Windsor Castle in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement

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People wearing face masks hold banners in Hyde Park during a Black Lives Matter protest following the death of George Floyd who died in police custody in Minneapolis

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Street artist Nath Murdoch touches up his anti-racism mural in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire

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Customers socially distance themselves as they queue to enter Ikea in Warrington. The store opening saw large queues of people and traffic on adjacent roads as it reopened after the lockdown. The furniture and housewares chain reopened its stores across England and Northern Ireland subject to several restrictions, keeping its restaurants closed and asking customers to shop alone

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A man wearing a protective face mask kneels in front of police officers during a protest against the death in Minneapolis police custody of African-American man George Floyd near the U.S. Embassy, London, Britai

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Visitors at Grassholme Reservoir in Lunedale, Co Durham are able to cross an ancient packhorse bridge as work on the dam wall means water levels have dropped signifcantly to reveal this monument of the pas

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British Tennis player Maia Lumsden in action at Bridge of Allan Tennis Club. People can meet family and friends outdoors and play sports such as golf and tennis again as the country is moving into phase one of the Scottish Government's plan for gradually lifting lockdown

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A police frogman, searches for a weapon in Abington Lake in in Northampton

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I was optimistic about this brave new post-Covid world until the Tories reminded us who they really are - The Independent