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Recently an opposition politician faced with protests while making a speech repeatedly shouted “power not protest” much to the delight of his already persuaded audience. The irony is that he himself has taken part in protests in the past. Those were more acceptable protests though, ones where he was at the front, holding a banner and getting plenty of positive coverage for his next election campaign.
Putting aside the hypocrisy and the individual looking utterly ridiculous, his inane slogan is a measure of the politicians we are subjected to. Let’s look at the UK over the last 40 plus years. Our once world leading manufacturing industry has practically gone, poverty which was once treated as structural inequality is now trumpeted as moral failings. Around 10 million people are trapped in insecure, relatively low-paid work, with declining working conditions and without decent pensions. What happens when they can’t work any longer? Crime is bound to grow in these conditions, more devastated victims and with it more prisons.
Then there is the younger generation. What stake do they have in this society? There has been a housing crisis for at least a decade, but the seeds were sown many years ago when house inflation became a measure of a successful economy. Through no fault of their own, more and more people are having to stay living at home with their parents or if they can afford it, pay exorbitant rents for substandard housing. This is young people already saddled with high levels of debt.
In short when these politicians ask for our vote we seriously have to look at their record and face the fact that most lack the capability to make the change needed. They have been in government for decades in all their different guises and the country has only got worse, so why are we still voting for them? It’s always this time they will get it right.
There are a lot of complaints about Redcar and Cleveland council and I am sure many are justified. But we have reached the ridiculous stage now where the council have been so pauperised by central government that they are proposing charging for green bin collection to help balance the budget. On the one hand while Simon Clarke boasts about the extra money gifted to the town , his government strips the town of the necessary funds to provide local services and on-going improvements. They take the money from the town and then give a small proportion back and say, “vote for us, see how generous we are”. Central funding has dropped by an average of 30% since 2010¹ and to be fair compared with our immediate continental cousins it was already low by their standards.
Guisra is about us the residents of Guisborough taking control of our destiny. It’s for everybody. What we want at the end of the day is an empowered town. A town that owns its own budget. A town that decides what gets done and even puts the funding together if necessary. We don’t want to be consulted after the fact, we want to decide and then consult the council of our expectations. Along the way other towns will see our model works and will do the same. When enough people are empowered, politicians will no longer be in power but rather in service.
Join Guisra free here and let’s take control of our future.
All the best,
Michael Dakin
¹ Councils facing record cash shortfalls, Councils face the perfect storm |
