Vicky Price talks on wealth at Salon North

Tonight’s Salon North at the Masonic Hall in Harrogate should produce a fascinating discussion, not least because one of the guest speakers is Vince Cable’s economics advisor Vicky Price.
Vicky Price.Vicky Price.
Vicky Price.

The theme of this Harrogate International Festivals event (Thursday, November 27) is wealth but Price’s take on it may differ from the other two speakers - Margaret Heffernan, author of bestseller A Bigger Prize, and neuroscientist Dr Sandrine Thuret.

Vicky told me her views had been reinforced by the nine weeks she spent in prison after accepting points of her licence on behalf of her estranged husband and ex-Lib Dem minister, Chris Huhne.

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She’s now a patron of Working Chance, a charity which finds quality jobs for women ex-offenders to which she donates royalties from her current book Prisonomics.

Vicky said: “Everything I saw around me in prison and was told by fellow inmates was later confirmed by extraordinary data. More than 80% of women were unemployed in the weeks before being sentenced. Only eight per cent of women find work again within the first year after coming out of jail. The best way to reduce crime, re-offending and the number of victims is to ensure that people are educated and have jobs.”

The event starts at 7.30pm.

Tickets are available from www.harrogateinternationalfestivals.com/salon-north/ or call the Festival Box Office on 01423 562 303.

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