I don’t like making political statements. I always thought that people who spouted off about the state of politics in this country needed to look outside our borders to see just how badly off other people are.
For instance, people in Britain complain about the rising number of immigrants in this country, and I have been known to mumble angry utterances myself. But I understand that there is a reason for the mass migration we have witnessed in the last few years. We should be proud that our country is seen as the promised land for these people. I can see this argument from both points of view, as for every immigrant who comes to Britain to work hard, there is another who comes here to claim benefits.
However, one argument I cannot and will not see from both sides is the abolition of the 10p income tax rate. I simply cannot get my head around it. And I’m fairly intelligent. I’m no computer programmer, or quantum mechanic, but I’ve got a number of A-levels under my belt, and a Degree in Politics from the finest Polytechnic / University that money could afford.
I’m one of “Thatcher’s children”. I grew up in the 1980’s and for the first years of my life all I knew was life under the Tories. Labour were spearheaded by some comical Welsh bloke and fat guy with a lisp. They had no chance of coming to power, no matter how badly the incumbent government behaved. The man who turned this all around, and made Labour a prominent political force, was John Smith, who led the Labour party for 2 years until his untimely death in 1994. During this short time, he turned the Labour Party into genuine contenders, and for the first time in 15 years the party looked like a potential government-in-waiting.
Tony Blair took the reigns and led the party to General Election success in 1997. All was sweetness and light, apart from the dour Chancellor of the Exchequer, a Mr G. Brown from Scotland. For the next 10 years, whilst Tony rode the Prime Ministerial rollercoaster, Gordon Brown behaved like a petulant child sitting in the back of Tony’s car. “Are we there yet? Is it my turn to govern??”. No Gordon, not for a while.
And so here we are, the petulant child has been placed at the Head of the British government, and he is unravelling quicker than the woolly jumper my Aunty knitted for my 8th birthday.
The Labour party was forged in the early 20th century by the Unions, the working class men. They were a party created for the people, by the people. They represented the subordinate proletariat, whilst opposing the oppression of their bourgeois leaders. Not communism, you understand, but closer to it for comfort than the Tories liked.
In my political studies, I explored most theologies and ideologies that existed. From the anguished thoughts of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, to the wonderfully eloquent writings of Thomas Paine. And yet despite all of this, I am unable to see how the Labour party has evolved into a party for the rich people, by the rich people. Keir Hardie and Ramsay Macdonald will be turning in their graves.
The abolition of the 10p tax rate is nothing short of a sin. It’s criminally hurtful to those who can afford it the least. Put simply, this new tax rate takes more money from people who earn less than £18,000 a year and gives it back to those who earn more. So the old phrase of the poor getting poorer has never been so accurate.
This is a policy which a Labour party Prime Minister has introduced. I simply cannot believe this. I know that New Labour has very little to do with the origins of the Labour Party, but surely this is the final cut of the umbilical. The Labour government has found a way to punish low earners for earning low wages. It’s the ultimate insult from a man who has never been elected Prime Minister, and yet sits on his throne taking our money.
As I said, I’m one of Thatcher’s children. Brought up opposing Maggie and all she stood for, whilst hoping that the heroic Labour party would one day sweep in and clear the Tories out. It makes me wonder if it’s better to vote for a political party because it’s what you’ve always done, and it’s what your parents have always done, and their parents before them or whether it’s more beneficial to not attach yourself to one party. To have no long-term political persuasion. To hedge my bets, and spend time actually listening to what the candidates have to say, hoping against hope that something they say might resonate with me and allow me to think “yeah......you’re worthy of my vote”.
Perhaps this is more pertinent in it’s identification of an awful truth. There are no political parties anymore. There are groups of people with leaders, but politics has very little to do with it. Ask David Cameron about his political ideology and you’d struggle to get a coherent answer. Ask Gordon Brown the same and you’d struggle to get a coherent sentence. For the life of me I can’t remember the Liberal Party’s leader, although it may be Nick Clegg.
The recent Primaries and Caucuses in the USA have shown me that there is still room for passionate people in politics, that it’s more than just sound bites for the media. I would love to feel moved by the oratory of a political candidate the way the American’s are by Barrack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Ultimately, I fear that the closeness of the race Democratic nomination will be the parties’ undoing, with infighting and divisions allowing the Republic nominee, John McCain, to coast in to the White House. But at least it’s got people talking about politics over there.
What does the UK need to get us interested in Politics again??
ADDITIONAL NOTES 07/05/08
The recent Council elections have shown that I am not the only person to be angered by the Labour Party’s apparent contempt for the voters. Mr Gordon Brown is not out of the game yet, but he is certainly being handed his hat. And I am very pleased with this outcome, because it proves that people can still be moved by politics. Staunch Labour supporters have turned their backs on the party exclaiming “enough is enough”.
What concerns me is the “sound bite” syndrome which followed. Gordon Brown told anyone he could find that he “is listening” and he “will learn”. I don’t think he will. Call me an old cynic, but I think he will continue right on with his own agenda until he finds himself sat outside number 10 with the bobby minding the door asking him to move along.
Even the retraction of the 10p tax abolition rings hollow. Those who suffered the most will be reimbursed, they promise. This is not a U-turn, but a return to the needs of the voters, apparently. No promises of when this will happen, or how to find out about it, not even on the infamous DirectGov website. Surely it would be simpler to just bring the old tax system back, but no, it seems easier to continue the tax, but reimburse those hit the hardest with money extracted from the Winter Heating Allowance fund.
Robbing Peter to pay Paul, perhaps?
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