Where did it all go wrong? I'll tell you!
28/07/2010
I can't resist responding to Terry Waite in July’s Mature Times (link below) in which he raised many bones of contention by asking - where did it all go wrong?
He cites the golden opportunity that New Labour under Tony Blair was offered to make significant changes for the better. There is no doubt that some things have changed for the better but much more has not. What we didn’t know was that Blair’s silver tongue would take the country into war based on spurious unproven evidence and be a poodle to the most reviled right wing American president of George Bush. What was also not clear was how he would prove to be a Tory in Labour clothes by broadly continuing ideas of Margaret Thatcher; albeit with certain differences.
Thatcherite policies have been much vaunted for fiscal rectitude and crushing the unions, whilst many damaging faults are ignored. As well as creating three million unemployed and destroying communities, which some have yet to recover from, the dash for cash set in train a culture of greed and selfish interest at the expense of social cohesion, which was imported from America and culminated in the near catastrophic collapse of the world economic order. Inevitably, the least advantaged will pay the price.
Her style was also verging on dictatorial and it’s not surprising that Geoffrey Howe, her most loyal and longest serving lieutenant, reluctantly condemned the direction of her leadership with a sulfurous resigning speech that was certainly more damaging than being ravaged by a dead sheep. Not long after she was removed from office by her own party, not the electorate.
Now we see that the Tories have not changed their spots. Though having a flimsy majority bolstered by opportune Lib-Dems, they have imposed savage cuts with such indecent haste which even MrsThatcher would have baulked at and shades of déjà vu, are introducing wide ranging radical changes without consulting the professionals. By not having the unions to bash, justification for the harsh austerity measures are blamed on the previous government. New Labour must take responsibility for costly gross waste and profligate government spending however, but mostly, for not putting a brake on unsustainable private and public debt and allowing the gap between rich and poor to reach such obscene proportions - with Tory acquiescence. Hardly socialist ethos!
With regard to the British Empire going the way of all empires, our little country twice saved Europe from the ravages of fascism in the last century, which bled us dry. What is amazing is how thousands of selfless courageous foreigners from around the globe were willing to uproot from their security and lay down their lives for ideals of the “mother country”. So contrary to persistent denigration of our history, our empire was not all bad.
We still punch above our weight by contributing more into the EU kitty than all other European countries except Germany, which has been the biggest beneficiary of the destruction of our manufacturing base. The wisdom of most financial investment advice is not to put all your eggs in one basket, which is precisely what began in the 1980’s, by relying on the gambling casino of the city without constraints on excess. As Terry points out, we need balance in our economy.
Anger towards unbridled greed is not mere envy when considering the consequences of widespread hardship being felt as the cut backs bite. Multi millionaires, who are insulated against the harsh winds of economic reality, will no doubt whimper about paying a little more tax to share the burden.
The old adage still holds true that “together we stand divided we fall” and the attitude of self first and self last, disguised as individualism, is socially divisive and potentially destructive. Given the perilous state of the planet, with pollution, global warming, overpopulation and diminishing resources, perhaps it is wishful thinking to hope that we humans might recognise that our survival depends more on cooperation than confrontation fuelled by envy and greed.
Bill Newham
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