Tag Archives: funerals

Addressing the cost-of-dying crisis

By Samuel Jackson | Thu 27th November 2025 - 11:57 am

Our party is dedicated to resolving the cost-of-living crisis, where inflated prices and insecure or short supply are affecting our ability to afford life’s necessities. However, there is a part of life being negatively impacted by inflation that goes undiscussed: death.

Death is never an easy subject to talk about, nor is it one that many of us want us to seriously contemplate. We will have experienced bereavement at some point in our lives, with many of us having organised the final farewells of family members and loved ones. However, ignoring such issues ignores the problems that inflation is causing during such fraught times.

Between 2004 and 2025, inflation rose by 75% overall, but the cost of funerals increased by 134%. Today, the cost of dying averages £9,797 – covering funerals and associated professional fees and send-off costs – while simple funerals cost £4,285 and direct cremations cost £1,597. These cost the same regardless of household income, meaning that those at the lower end of the scale must spend a greater proportion of annual income than those at the higher end.

Such financial difficulties are compounding the emotional toll of bereavement. While support can be provided in the form of the Funeral Expenses Payment, this only amounts to a maximum of £1,000, with all excess costs being paid out of pocket. Under such conditions, purchasers do not exercise the same consideration for funerals as they would with any other service, often relying on the first funeral provider they encounter, guided by expectations of what funerals should entail and consensus among family members rather than intended wishes or preferences.

Such considerations have led to significant changes in British funereal practices. With cost being a major factor, cremations constitute nearly 80% of final dispositions in the UK annually and public health funerals – services provided by local authorities – have increased. However, these changes entail problems of their own. Depending on where you live, local authorities can deny attendance by family members and loved ones, the inclusion of burial markers or the return of ashes at their discretion when providing public health funerals because of costs which they must bear.

Communities such as Jews and Muslims face disproportionate funeral costs because of their faiths. As Judaism and Islam prescribe burial and prohibit cremation, adherents must pay the higher costs incurred by the former practice.

Posted in Op-eds | Leave a comment

Ron Waddell’s funeral to take place on 16th August – livestream available

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 12th August 2022 - 10:25 am

You may remember we brought you the sad news that much-loved former Scottish Lib Dem Chief Exec died suddenly on 17th July.

As I wrote at the time:

In every single conversation I have had with people about Ron in the past two days, the words kind and gentle have featured very highly. He was a lovely man, always wise and one of those people who could instantly calm a frazzled situation or, dare I say, bruised egos.

He was one of the best humans, gone way too soon.

Ron’s wife Sandra Grieve would like us to share details of his funeral, which will take place next Tuesday, 16th August, at 1pm at Holy Trinity Church in Mapperley.

Sandra is aware that not everybody who wants to be there will be able to travel so the service will be livestreamed. Sandra and Ron moved to Derbyshire to be closer to their family in 2016. They lived in Lanark for a long time before that and the service will be conducted by their minister from there, Rev Bryan Kerr, who has helped organise the streaming. Details of how to join are at the end of this post.

Jim Wallace, former Scottish Lib Dem Leader, Lib Dem Lords Leader and Scottish FIrst Minister knew Ron for many years. He said to me:

On Tuesday, we shall gather in Mapperley and online to pay tribute to Ron, a great Liberal, and to offer to Sandra and the family our comfort and support.

I knew Ron from days of Scottish Young Liberal conferences in the late 1970s. He served both the Scottish Liberal Party and Scottish Liberal Democrats in many different roles and ways, but always with enthusiasm and commitment. What a number of his party acquaintances may not know, is just how well respected he was in his other career as a teacher and education administrator. Talking to people who were Ron’s colleagues in politics or in education, similar comments re-echo: “wonderfully kind”, “caring and compassionate”, “loyal”, “unflappable” and “a good sense of humour”.

Ron’s was a life cut short all too soon, but through his contributions to politics, education and in the communities where he lived, it was a life well lived.

The details of the live stream are as follows;

Posted in News | Also tagged ron waddell | 1 Comment

Opinion: Wear a yellow flower to honour a Lib Dem friend

By Ed Fordham | Wed 24th June 2015 - 11:57 am

A few years ago I gave a training session at Wyboston for target seat candidates on the role of the PPC. I tried to make it interesting, thought provoking, even different. One of the roles I had on my slides was attending funerals of long standing activists. The idea aroused some discussion with a couple of those present dismissing the idea, and one person present saying they were going to concentrate on the living only. Well I would still believe that one of the roles of a PPC is to attend funerals of long standing activists. Let me explain.

Here in Camden we have a strong and sociable local party – food and drink are a large part of our staple campaign diet – we try to make it fun, we have a scheme whereby if you can’t go, but can afford it, you pay to attend and those less able to afford are given free access.

With this sociability goes a sense of family – this is something I often hear Liberal Democrats talk about up and down the country – well so with family we pay our respects when they pass away.