There’s a lot of bad news around at the moment.

Westminster is mired in sleaze, Brexit negotiations are making slow progress and it’s not clear whether anyone is actually running the country.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Perhaps this is the right time to focus on the good news for once.

After all, there are plenty of reasons to be cheerful.

Unemployment is down. In fact, in the West Midlands it fell by 5 per cent in just three months. That’s a fall from 164,000 people to 155,000 people.

And people are investing in the region. For example, the number of retail outlets opening in the West Midlands is at its highest level for three years, according to new research.

And our pay has gone up. Just a little bit, but it has.

Official figures show that average total pay for employees in Great Britain increased from £376 per week in January 2005 to £509 per week in September 2017; an increase of 35.3%.

Smile!

Okay, but what about inflation?

Well, over the same period the Consumer Prices Index, including housing costs, increased by 33.2%.

In other words, pay has risen slightly even after inflation is taken into account.

And a note about inflation. Some news reports have suggested inflation is shooting up. But in fact, it’s still pretty low at just 2.8%.

The Government’s target (originally set by the last Labour government) is 2%. That’s because a bit of inflation is actually good for the economy.

And it’s a target - not an upper limit.

In other words, we’re actually closer to the 2% target now than we were when inflation was close to zero.

What about housing? There are huge problems in the housing market, and too many people struggle to find an affordable home.

But new homes are being built.

In fact, in the West Midlands the number of homes increased by 5,988 in the past year. This is the total number of new homes minus any demolitions.

And the figure has risen. Go back five years and it was 4,824.

But what about Brexit? Doesn’t the rest of Europe hate us now?

Well, no.

The latest official figures show that 248,000 people from EU countries chose to move to the UK over 12 months (between March 2016 and March 2017).

At the same time, 122,000 EU citizens left.

It’s true that the number leaving has increased, compared to the years before the referendum.

But it’s still far lower than the number choosing to come here.

What about the NHS - which depends partly on doctors, nurses and other staff from overseas, including the EU?

Research by the House of Commons published in October found there were 28,207 EU nationals working in the NHS in 2009.

But in 2017, that figure is 61,895. In other words, workers from the EU haven’t abandoned the NHS.

And it suggests the UK is still seen as a great place to live and work.