We’ve woken up this morning to another five years of Tory
rule.
I don’t know if anyone noticed, but I’ve necessarily kept
quiet about politics over the last few weeks. Those who follow me on Facebook
and keep an eye on what I comment on news pages and political “discussions”
will know that this is quite rare these days. But the reason is: As I work for Dudley
Council, I have been told in no uncertain terms that I am not supposed to show
solidarity or support for any one politician or political party until after the
election. This is standard procedure for people who work in councils or the civil
service, and it also means I’ve had to keep a lot of my regular social media
output quiet for the last five weeks. I have done so – people have lost their
jobs for being in breach of their organisation’s social media policy[1]
and I can ill-afford that – but now I’m allowed to talk about it again I want
to make my position on the matter perfectly clear:
I voted for Labour.
I voted for Eleanor Smith, the Labour candidate for
Wolverhampton South West.
I voted for Jeremy Corbyn.
I wanted a society where prices were reasonable, where
public services were properly funded, and where decisions were made based on
how well they benefit the country, rather than pushing one agenda or rhetoric.
I felt that Labour had the best possible chance of making this fairer society
that works for everyone, rather than leave those who don’t already have a lot
of money to fight for the scraps of what’s left over. Now it seems that we live
in a country that would rather people fight for scraps – and if you’ve got no
fight left in you, you’re on your own.
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| Really as bad as all that? |
I’ve heard the questions raised about Jeremy Corbyn. I know
a lot of people don’t like him. Nobody who has said they don’t like Corbyn has
been able to give me a reason for that, or at least one that didn’t come across
as partisan sensationalism. But my awareness of political matters does not
extend to seeing a party leader to do more to engage with the people than
Jeremy Corbyn. If I knew nothing else about him, that would have been enough
for me. However, it seems as though the people would prefer Boris Johnson.
Funnily enough nobody seems to be able to give a good reason for that either,
apart from “He’ll get us out of the EU,” which is a position I cannot support.
And I’m terrified.
You can make the same trite arguments I’ve been hearing
since the 2016 Brexit referendum about millennial snowflakes, accepting
democracy, and every variation of You Lost Get Over It. And no doubt many of
you will. But I’m afraid this affects me at a far more fundamental level than
such abstract concepts as sovereignty and democracy.
I work in a service that has, over the last nine years, had
to weather the funding cuts that the conservative party felt they had to make.
The government funding for my service has completely gone now – we’re almost
entirely a traded service. But there’s also no interest in funding the schools
that buy our service in, which means that there’s not much money to spend on
things like arts provision. As a result, I’ve been losing work steadily for the
last six years, and therefore losing my income. I’ve had to look elsewhere for
work and I’m barely making enough money on a combination of my job and partial
self-employment as a music teacher. My work on both fronts continues to
decrease, and with a conservative government in power, I can’t see that
situation improving.
So no, I’m not going to celebrate another five years of
wondering if my job is still going to exist, or how I’m going to keep fighting
tooth and nail to make sure I can provide for my family if it doesn’t.
How long can this carry on?
[1] So
that we’re clear, I’m not referring to, nor am I aware of, any specific
incident that relates to Dudley Council – but I know it happens in other
organisations.
