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With a little over a week to go before the UK General Election of 2015, I find myself getting steadily more depressed about politics, as the large parties continue to frame the choices between them as a dismal game of "Who's going to do the least damage to the country in the short term?"
This is what I want out of the UK government.
I want them to ensure that the nearly one million people who had to use food banks this year can pay for their groceries every month. (In 2008-2009, a mere 25,000 people used food banks. Which is still too many, but the scale of the increase in six years is mind-boggling.)
I want them to ensure that we can point proudly to a benefit system that supports and cares for those in our society who cannot work. I do not care whether they have ever made an economic contribution. I do not care how old they are. I want them to have a roof over their heads, medicines, heating in the winter and food in their bellies. Shockingly (it seems), I even believe that they should be allowed to be a bit frivolous and say, enjoy watching television, owning a pair of fashionable shoes or wasting time on the internet.
I want them to ensure that the increasingly massive imbalance in wealth distribution is stopped. I'm sick of being told that we could all be ultra-rich if we just tried harder. (Side note: Every time I see George Osborne, apart from throwing up in my mouth a little, I think of Denholm Reynholm from The IT Crowd giving a motivational speech to his employees. "When I started [Reynholm Industries] all I had was a dream!...And six million pounds." Except less inspirational because he doesn't even have the self-awareness to make that joke.) It is simply untrue, even for those of us who were born with sufficient privilege and good health to have led a comfortable existence in the middle class. There are plenty of people who will never work a job that pays more than minimum wage. Instead of blaming them for failing to alter the large-scale machinations of the economy, perhaps we could just pay them a minimum wage that pays the bills. And perhaps we could tax the ultra-rich sufficiently so that the ultra-rich cease to exist as a socioeconomic class. This should not be impossible. I don't understand why the very idea of it seems to be anathema now.
I want them to stop propagating the myth that the country's economic problems stem from its immigration policies. There is plenty of evidence out there to suggest that all immigration ("skilled" or otherwise) has a net positive effect on the economy, so I'm not going to bang on about that now. Instead, I will just reference my personal experience. I spent 10 years as an immigrant here. I've been in multiple visa classes over that time, in the following order:
As a non-EEA (European Economic Area) migrant, I was never able to claim benefits, and if I ever lost my job, I had 28 days to find another one before I'd've had to leave the country. I spent the bulk of the 10 years in paid work, making regular NI contributions above the basic tax rate. Not only that, the visa system itself is a great money-spinner for Britain. With the exception of the employer-sponsored work permit, I (and my British partner, because he loves me and wants me to, you know, stay here and help raise our children) have paid out of pocket for all of my visas and renewals, for my Indefinite Leave to Remain, and most recently, for citizenship. The total cost is over £6000. So in addition to the money that my job naturally generated for the British economy, I voluntarily gave six grand to the UK Border Agency just for the right to continue to live here. I would imagine that most people could think of a lot of other stuff they'd rather do with six grand. To be honest, so can I, but I was willing to make the sacrifice in order to stay. And I am 100% certain that mine is not the only story like this.
I want them to keep the UK in the European Union. There are good political reasons for staying in the EU, but for me, one important factor, unsurprisingly, is SCIENCE. Without the UK's participation in the EU, a lot of large-scale multimillion pound research collaborations (e.g. high-profile space missions and a certain large particle physics experiment) would either fall apart or the UK would have to withdraw from them. Additionally, I'd love to hear how the parties trumpeting about an EU exit and closing borders to immigration would plan to repatriate the hundreds of thousands of British persons living abroad who would very likely be ejected in retaliation from the countries where they're presently residing.
I want them to address the housing shortage, which is increasingly looking as if it's going to screw nearly everyone's children out of ever owning a home for the next several decades. I want to see, for instance, the long-dead boarded-up shops on the high streets, which are never going to reopen because internet shopping, turned into nice flats and small parks. Bonus points if they're council flats, or rent-controlled if they're owned privately, so that private renters aren't paying more than 50% of their wage packets to their landlords to live in minimally maintained hovels.
Why does it have to be the case that believing in these things seems to mark one as a hopeless, unrealistic idealist? Is it all truly impossible to achieve? Why do we shrug our shoulders at an increasingly unequal and unfair status quo? One that, if it carries on as it's going, will mean that our children (and also many of us who are in our thirties and forties) will never be able to pay off their student loans, to own homes or to stop working when they get old, let alone believe that they'll have pensions or a health care system that will support them when they can't? It can't be too late to stop that from happening, can it?
This is what I want out of the UK government.
I want them to ensure that the nearly one million people who had to use food banks this year can pay for their groceries every month. (In 2008-2009, a mere 25,000 people used food banks. Which is still too many, but the scale of the increase in six years is mind-boggling.)
I want them to ensure that we can point proudly to a benefit system that supports and cares for those in our society who cannot work. I do not care whether they have ever made an economic contribution. I do not care how old they are. I want them to have a roof over their heads, medicines, heating in the winter and food in their bellies. Shockingly (it seems), I even believe that they should be allowed to be a bit frivolous and say, enjoy watching television, owning a pair of fashionable shoes or wasting time on the internet.
I want them to ensure that the increasingly massive imbalance in wealth distribution is stopped. I'm sick of being told that we could all be ultra-rich if we just tried harder. (Side note: Every time I see George Osborne, apart from throwing up in my mouth a little, I think of Denholm Reynholm from The IT Crowd giving a motivational speech to his employees. "When I started [Reynholm Industries] all I had was a dream!...And six million pounds." Except less inspirational because he doesn't even have the self-awareness to make that joke.) It is simply untrue, even for those of us who were born with sufficient privilege and good health to have led a comfortable existence in the middle class. There are plenty of people who will never work a job that pays more than minimum wage. Instead of blaming them for failing to alter the large-scale machinations of the economy, perhaps we could just pay them a minimum wage that pays the bills. And perhaps we could tax the ultra-rich sufficiently so that the ultra-rich cease to exist as a socioeconomic class. This should not be impossible. I don't understand why the very idea of it seems to be anathema now.
I want them to stop propagating the myth that the country's economic problems stem from its immigration policies. There is plenty of evidence out there to suggest that all immigration ("skilled" or otherwise) has a net positive effect on the economy, so I'm not going to bang on about that now. Instead, I will just reference my personal experience. I spent 10 years as an immigrant here. I've been in multiple visa classes over that time, in the following order:
- Domestic partner (I came over with an American partner who took a transfer from the LA to the London office of his company)
- Employer-sponsored work permit
- Highly Skilled Migrant (became Tier 1)
- Tier 1 (for which I would now no longer qualify since the income threshold was raised to £150,000/annum)
As a non-EEA (European Economic Area) migrant, I was never able to claim benefits, and if I ever lost my job, I had 28 days to find another one before I'd've had to leave the country. I spent the bulk of the 10 years in paid work, making regular NI contributions above the basic tax rate. Not only that, the visa system itself is a great money-spinner for Britain. With the exception of the employer-sponsored work permit, I (and my British partner, because he loves me and wants me to, you know, stay here and help raise our children) have paid out of pocket for all of my visas and renewals, for my Indefinite Leave to Remain, and most recently, for citizenship. The total cost is over £6000. So in addition to the money that my job naturally generated for the British economy, I voluntarily gave six grand to the UK Border Agency just for the right to continue to live here. I would imagine that most people could think of a lot of other stuff they'd rather do with six grand. To be honest, so can I, but I was willing to make the sacrifice in order to stay. And I am 100% certain that mine is not the only story like this.
I want them to keep the UK in the European Union. There are good political reasons for staying in the EU, but for me, one important factor, unsurprisingly, is SCIENCE. Without the UK's participation in the EU, a lot of large-scale multimillion pound research collaborations (e.g. high-profile space missions and a certain large particle physics experiment) would either fall apart or the UK would have to withdraw from them. Additionally, I'd love to hear how the parties trumpeting about an EU exit and closing borders to immigration would plan to repatriate the hundreds of thousands of British persons living abroad who would very likely be ejected in retaliation from the countries where they're presently residing.
I want them to address the housing shortage, which is increasingly looking as if it's going to screw nearly everyone's children out of ever owning a home for the next several decades. I want to see, for instance, the long-dead boarded-up shops on the high streets, which are never going to reopen because internet shopping, turned into nice flats and small parks. Bonus points if they're council flats, or rent-controlled if they're owned privately, so that private renters aren't paying more than 50% of their wage packets to their landlords to live in minimally maintained hovels.
Why does it have to be the case that believing in these things seems to mark one as a hopeless, unrealistic idealist? Is it all truly impossible to achieve? Why do we shrug our shoulders at an increasingly unequal and unfair status quo? One that, if it carries on as it's going, will mean that our children (and also many of us who are in our thirties and forties) will never be able to pay off their student loans, to own homes or to stop working when they get old, let alone believe that they'll have pensions or a health care system that will support them when they can't? It can't be too late to stop that from happening, can it?
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There are still some of us in the political system who believe in these things and are working from the inside for them. It's nice to know we still have some support in the populace.
I know my party has not been perfect on many of these things, but I still think it's the best vehicle to push for them... but then I guess I would say that, wouldn't I?
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Since I live in a Tory safe seat, I'm having an interesting time finding the manifesto that best matches my view.
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...amd that's as much as I can say on this subject without descending into full-on depressive rant mode (I've already deleted one of those), because I find myself utterly despairing when I consider the next few years. (And that's assuming the DWP don't order me onto the food bank queues. Which they might, at any time.)
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But the worst is yet to come. Cameron is going to have to be crowbarred out of Downing Street - he's more or less said this, now - but Miliband is busy putting the toolbox beyond use, because it might get a few more people to vote for him in Scotland? It's ridiculous. Politics as pantomime...
It really wasn't hard to go Green this time round. The only party that appears to actually *believe* in something, rather than defining itself exclusively on "not being the other lot". :(
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The problem is, if Labour isn't the largest party, he'll be forced out anyway; but Labour will still have to do a deal with the SNP in order to govern. So he's basically tied the "no deal with the SNP" policy to himself. Which means that on May 8, he can resign, taking the no-SNP policy with him and letting the leadership election play out while the Tories are proving they can't get anything done over the summer. After the summer recess, Labour will be back with a new leader elected on the basis that they will lead a progressive coalition into an anyone-but-Dave government - or a new election. And then Dave's got a problem, because he'll be going into an election as the man who lost twice, against a shiny new Labour leader with the full backing of the party and a tabula-rasa public profile.
Whereas if he does lead the largest party on May 8, he gets to dare the SNP to sack him, and of course they won't, particularly if he promises something approaching full Smith implementation.
It's a last-ditch gamble, and he really does seem to be putting the interests of Labour above his own desire for power. Unfortunately, I don't think that's how the press are going to read it - and he can scarcely spell it out.
On the other hand... I've been completely wrong before when attributing courage and nobility to Ed Miliband; I expect I'll be proven wrong again. It's just that this is the only thing I can think of that makes any sense.
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I voluntarily gave six grand to the UK Border Agency just for the right to continue to live here.
Just for the right to ask them to let you continue to live here. I'm always convinced something's going to go wrong -- even though I have absolutely no reason to think it should as I do everything "right", but when the system's set up to treat me like a criminal asking for special favors, maybe it's no wonder I end up feeling like one -- I can't help but think they could take all my money and still say no, and there's nothing I could do about that.
...No wonder I got diagnosed with an anxiety disorder a few years after I moved here! It might say "settled" on my passport these days, but I don't feel it.
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That would be because I'm from a working class council estate background, but got an education and got on and my grandads were colliers who suggested I get on.
Sigh- read some history why don't they? :o(
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I think UKIP have a lot to answer for in this respect, they have significantly shaped which policies are the dominant ones in this election and by doing so they've centred things like immigration and managed to de-prioritise education (the ongoing privatisation of State schools by academy-conversion, the neoliberal turn in University culture and management) and housing.
They've also made immigration into the solve-everything-to-do-with-the-economy-with-one-policy issue instead of there being space for the scrutiny of the politics of austerity which Labour really should be targeting but seem content dance to the tune the right wing are singing.
I am worried. I have little hope of a decisive victory for the left(ish) which would at least halt the very worst parts even if I hold little hope for Labour reversing the effects of Tory policy. I fear the Tory's will be largely unimpeded to continue their catastrophic policy setting. I truly cannot imagine what our country will look like 5 years from now if they retain power. Certainly, where we are now is worse than I imagined it would be 5 years ago and I thought I was pessimistic then.
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*grits teeth*
I suppose now is a good time for me to research charities that will start getting bigger donations from me once I'm back at work from maternity leave, because even more people are going to be relying on them. :(
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I really hope the current trend toward removal of the social safety net here can be halted.
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I shall be cheering for better choices at your elections in 2016.