We have a rare opportunity to change the course of this nation for the better
As the voter registration closes, Britain is bracing itself for the most whirlwind election period in decades. The lead up to the elections has been littered with increasingly meaningless intonations of “strong and stable”, dramatised news items including that of the Labour party leader supposedly running over a cameraman’s foot, and quite serious disasters in the form of the NHS cyber attack, upon which the Conservative Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt seemingly went into hiding. Amid these moments of confusion, Britain has a serious decision to make and little time within which to make it.
Prime Minister Theresa May appears intent on promoting her One Nation Toryism narrative, attempting to woo both the marginal voter and the quintessential Labour voter. But her manifesto pledges, including a controversial plan to end school lunches for infants that garnered her the title “lunch snatcher”, do little to convince. Barely three days since the Conservatives launched their uncosted manifesto, May is facing pressure for the party’s ‘U-turn’ on social care. This follows a weekend of social media meltdown as the prime minister lamented Jeremy Corbyn’s “utopian vision” and declared, “I believe in being upfront and straight with people”. Yet what has now been labelled a Conservative “manifesto of chaos” is anything but.
Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour party have in turn produced a costed manifesto that clearly sets out its socialist democratic priorities, and confidently offers an alternative to the entrenched Conservatism of the current and previous governments. Revealing Keynesian economic principles in contrast to the Marxist labels thrown by Corbyn opponents, Labour pledges to increase investment in infrastructure over a ten-year period and return public spending to the levels pre-dating the savage cuts implemented under the Tories. There is a strong focus on investment in education with the scrapping of tuition fees as early as autumn this year, as well as attention to health and social care at a time when the NHS is spiralling to ever-greater depths of crisis. A commitment to securing a fairer living wage, an end to zero hours contracts, an inflation cap on rent rises and the building of a million new homes including affordable homes, are further commitments designed to serve many struggling citizens. Meanwhile, against the more antagonistic stance to Brexit assumed by the Tories, Labour’s commitments on Brexit focus on the protection of jobs, living standards and environmental standards as priority.
Crucially, the Labour manifesto commitments to appropriate and progressive taxation alongside investment in education, health and social care are not only a means to level the playing field for a fairer and more humane society, but also make economic sense. Investment in education can only serve the economy in the long-term by developing a diverse and highly skilled workforce. Likewise, investment in health and social care maintain a healthy population and prevent the creation or exacerbation of ill health that places a greater financial burden on services, while keeping people genuinely fit for work.
Despite ideological differences, even the Conservative manifesto recognises that the role of the state cannot be reduced indefinitely without electoral consequences. Whether in her pledge to cap energy prices, to protects workers’ rights including those of so-called ‘gig’ workers, or to create more council houses, Theresa May senses the growing discontent surrounding social insecurity and flailing national institutions. Yet, it is difficult to believe that the interests of working-class politics lies with the Conservatives.
Whether in health and social care or wealth redistribution, years of Tory ideological austerity have reinvigorated the “nasty party” image. The legacy of the Tory government has all the hallmarks of reinforcing social inequality and preventing social mobility: child poverty in the UK has increased to 4 million; tuition fees have increased exponentially; grants for adult learners and educational maintenance have been scrapped; homelessness has soared by 30 per cent in some UK regions; food banks are reporting record demand (May controversially responded by saying that the reasons for using food banks were “complex”); and increased government surveillance powers with ever-eroding civil liberties have developed to a frightening degree.
One Nation Toryism will only benefit the few. On a range of issues, the priorities of big business takes precedence over the majority of the population. While severe cuts are applied on crucial services, including the scrapping of planned IT upgrades that left the NHS vulnerable to the disastrous attacks, corporation tax has been cut repeatedly to well below EU levels. Meanwhile, with the shadow of Brexit looming, the Tories not only threaten a hard Brexit with damaging consequences, but have already lumbered upon a destructive and alienating path by targeting remarkable allegations of interference in the UK elections at the EU.
Against this backdrop, and despite a continuous media onslaught by a heavily right-wing and anti-Corbyn press, Labour is making significant gains in the polls. The latest YouGov / Sunday Times voting intention figures show the Conservatives on 44 per cent and Labour on 35 per cent, giving the Tories a 9 point lead – their lowest of the campaign so far. Meanwhile, in Wales, YouGov is projecting a ten-point lead for Labour, the highest since 2013. Labour is polling higher under Corbyn than it did under Ed Miliband.
The notions of a fairer and more equal society are core principles of social democracy valued by the vast majority of the population. On that measure, it is without a doubt that Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour, as defined by their 2017 manifesto, presents the better choice. The great challenge for Labour is to ensure that its policies continue to make in-roads with the electorate in the remaining fortnight before election day. And the great challenge for we, the electorate, is that we grasp the monumental opportunity now presented to us to change Britain for the better.
The UK General Elections will take place on 8th June 2017.
Editorial update at 8am on Friday 26th May 2017
Britain mourns deeply. Monday witnessed the horrific suicide bombing at the Manchester Arena that saw 22 murdered and dozens more grievously injured. In the face of such a crushing tragedy, Manchester rose from the ashes – its community committed to combatting hate and showing the very best spirit of our nation.
When the suspended election campaigns resume, the electorate will face the challenge – once again – of sifting through the rhetoric to make the right choice at the ballot on 8th June. This choice has the potential to change lives and save lives, both here in Britain and abroad.
There is no doubt that Prime Minister Theresa May is in her element in the aftermath of the attack, going from flagging trust in the Tories and their U-turns, to the very familiar territory of counter-terrorism policy. Raising the terror threat level to critical, applying curfews and blockades, increasing stop and search and deploying the army to the streets, Britain is being militarised overnight.
Few have assessed the complex conditions which have led to this point, preferring instead to focus on the foreign bogeyman and his wretched ways. The Conservatives will certainly not face up to their role in cutting frontline services that have left policing in England and Wales in a “perilous state”, nor will they delve into their own complex and damaging foreign policy blunders, including operating an “open door” policy allowing Libyan exiles and British-Libyan citizens to join rebel forces in Libya, despite some being under counter-terrorism control orders. What’s more, civil liberties in Britain have fallen to a historic low under Theresa May’s watch – Amnesty has described the counter terror laws as the most Orwellian in Europe – and, yet, they have proven ineffective in preventing attacks.
We know that Jeremy Corbyn has consistently opposed foreign wars, specifically because of the cycle of conflict and terrorism they create. His was the unpopular position in the establishment, yet he stood his ground and he was right. While May capitalises on the sentiment of the nation to provide a militarised response that accompanies her much-loved slogan, we can expect Corbyn to be far truer to the values that Britain holds dear when he takes to the podium today. “We are determined to not allow the poison of terror to pollute our democratic politics.”
Image from here