Nasa has officially named the astronauts for its upcoming Artemis Moon missions, and a British-born candidate is among those in contention for a future lunar landing. The announcement, made from the Johnson Space Center in Houston, marks a significant step in the US space agency’s plan to return humans to the Moon for the first time since 1972. But for the working people of Britain, the question is not about the stars but about the price of a loaf of bread.
Let me be clear: I celebrate any achievement in science and exploration. A British astronaut on the Moon would be a moment of national pride. But pride does not pay the rent. As I write this, thousands of families in the North are choosing between heating and eating. The Apollo programme was a triumph of national will, but it was fuelled by a post-war boom that made middle-class life affordable. Today, real wages have stagnated for nearly two decades. The cost of housing in London has soared beyond the reach of young workers. And the gap between the South East and the rest of the country is a chasm that no moonshot can bridge.
The Artemis programme costs billions. The Space Launch System rocket, the Orion capsule, the lunar lander: each is a marvel of engineering. But each is also a tax-payer funded project that could have paid for thousands of nurses, teachers, or bus drivers. The government likes to talk about 'levelling up,' but the only levelling happening is the levelling down of public services. In my hometown of Sheffield, the libraries are closing. In Manchester, the waiting lists for hospital beds are measured in months. And in Glasgow, the shipyards that once built the world’s finest liners are now struggling to find skilled workers.
I do not begrudge the astronauts their moment in the spotlight. They are brave and brilliant. But let us not pretend that a British footprint on the Moon will trickle down to the kitchen tables of Bolton or Bradford. The real economy is about the price of milk, the security of a job, and the dignity of a pension. It is about the unions that fought for the weekend, the NHS that cares for the sick, and the schools that give every child a chance.
If we want to inspire a generation, let us start by ensuring that generation has a decent home, a stable income, and a future worth looking forward to. The Moon can wait. The people cannot.
So as the world watches the Artemis launch with bated breath, I will be watching the inflation figures. I will be listening to the stories of strikers who are standing up for their pay and conditions. And I will be asking the Chancellor: why is it that we can find billions for space exploration but not for the basic necessities of life?
Yes, a British-born astronaut in the Artemis programme is a story. But the bigger story is the one unfolding in every corner of this country, where ordinary people are fighting for a fair share of the prosperity that they helped create. That is the story that matters. And that is the story I will keep telling.
