Another farcical period in British politics
As yet another Prime Minister moves into No. 10, its 5th incumbent in 5 years, another farcical period of British politics draws to a close. We hope... Regardless of your political persuasion, to have a Government installed with such a huge majority means that at least things will change. Whether for the better or worse for the bulk of the population remains to be seen, but change is definitely on its way, assuming Starmer does not alienate a large proportion of his own party with the desired bills he will wish to bring to a vote.
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Given that the biggest majority that Margaret Thatcher had was 144 and Labour now have an advantage of 172 (181 in real terms given certain voting rules), then this is an even larger benign dictatorship than she ever had and she still managed to bring sweeping changes, even in her first term which was a mere 44 seat majority.
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Despite the fact I am not a Starmer fan, I think it can only be good for the country that whatever happens, it is decisive and moves us in one direction or another. The issue of such evenly matched parliaments, given each party always has its rebels, is the inability to effect real change with bills under constant revision to satisfy enough people in order to pass it, by which time its been compromised and become benign.
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However, the reality for Labour and their supporters is that the elephant in the room is MONEY, or a complete lack of it. Worse than that, we need, as a country, to start eating into the huge debt, which was largely caused by COVID and the effects of COVID which continue to dent our economy. So it will be interesting to see how Labour navigate these choppy waters since the only option to start paying down the debt, relieving inflation and interest rates, is to balance the books which in reality, means making budget cuts, which is precisely the opposite to Labour's normal modus operandi.
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It is going to take some real guts to make things better, for the MAJORITY of people, and personally I don't believe Labour have the resolve for it. Perhaps Sir Keir does, but I suspect those on the left (hence his desire to cleanse the party of the far left) will not agree and those rebels may number more than is necessary to defeat certain bills. Time will tell, but I would say this to the far left. If you want your party/ Government to have any lasting legacy it will need to demonstrate that it achieved change during its term(s). As unpalatable as making certain cuts will be, it is for the greater good and that is what a Government is here to do - make changes that benefit more people than it damages.
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Sir Keir and the party testify that they want to get Britain's economy going, make it more independent on energy and reduce unemployment, amongst other initiatives. Commendable, but hardly an avant guard position - surely that is the aim of every Government... The key here is HOW ? How are you going to achieve this when your traditional policies lean towards increased social care and benefits, in short, spending money the country does not have. The UK is already crippled by benefit junkies, who work the system to a completely ludicrous level in order to avoid working. Luckily, these people are a relative minority so to cut them off would not cause many ripples.
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Next you have the limp-wristed policies of multiple past Governments, on both sides of the spectrum, which mean people don't even have to play the system to get free money - it's simply handed to them on a plate. So that needs to change. Currently, 16 million people in the UK are listed as "disabled". That's a quarter of the population. Utterly ridiculous and even if it were true, it's totally unsustainable to have this many people claiming extra benefits. Next time you go out, and let us say it's to the pub, ask yourself, are 25% of the people in this pub "disabled". Really ? All drinking away, but 25% of them unable to work....
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Given the average disability pay out is £ 72.65 a week, that's £ 60 BILLION a year we are just giving away and I would estimate only 5% of the registered 16 million people really cannot work, given the most common cause of disability is lack of movement affecting your ability to lift and carry things. So those people who struggle physically should not seek employment in that kind of sector, or if they are injured whilst working in that sector, need to re-train.
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I myself could claim disability allowance if I so wished, through chronic long term illness that has been with me for 27 years and I warrant there are another few million like me, who don't. In short, people claiming these kinds of benefits really need to look themselves in the mirror and ask:- "Am I really incapable of working?"
If they do not, then the only sensible option is to remove all these kinds of benefits and start from scratch again, with proper assessments so the people who really need the help get it, and perhaps more help than they are getting now.
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This is just one area where Labour could find money very quickly but there are many many more which would give the treasury an immediate injection of money.
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Strong leadership means being able to make tough decisions that are not popular with everyone. So, Labour, have you got the stomach for this and other major actions, which will be perceived to be anti-Labour, but which will give you the finances to make your desired changes ? If you haven't then regrettably you are going to struggle to achieve anything positive. Time will tell.
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G. Hoff - Editor
