A System of Abuse, Betrayal, and Alienation

In 1997, Labour swept to power, receiving a disproportionately large number of seats compared to their vote share, thanks to the electoral system of FPTP used in the United Kingdom. Labour promised positive change for the country, but what we saw was the enshrinement in British politics of neo-liberal principles and authoritarian law, compounded with corruption, sleaze, and disillusionment.

Under New Labour we saw the deregulation of the banks and financial sector, which would contribute to the recession in the late 2000s, and allows obscene risks to be taken whilst bankers and executives pocket millions of taxpayers money to this day. We also saw the introduction of tuition fees in higher education, restricting access to education for thousands of young adults across Britain who were turned away by the prospect of debt on top of ever-rising living costs, and paving the way for the tripling of tuition fees from 2012. After 2000 we saw attack after attack on civil liberties, perhaps best highlighted by section 44, and detention without trial. On February 15th, 2003, over a million people took to the streets of London in opposition to action in Iraq; ignoring their cries for peace, the UK Government engaged in a barbaric and unjust – many would say illegal – war that would destabilise a region and lead to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. It was clear this was a government that did not listen to the concerns of the people.

A New Hope

Born from a failed political system, the coalition that acts as a catalyst for radicalisation.

The end of the 2000s brought rising unemployment, a financial sector that was lining the pockets of its executives, and representatives that would rather spend taxpayers money on personal duck ponds than public services. The people were angry at the Government, and at the political system that had allowed all this to happen. The seeds of change had been sown.

As the new decade started, and an election loomed, the people of Britain sought real change, a chance to clean up politics, and to have their voices heard. Angry with Labour after their record in government, and concerned about the threat of any conservative government, voters looked away from the same old parties and found a champion for their beliefs in the form of the Liberal Democrats, and Nick Clegg.

In the run up to the General Election, the Liberal Democrats captured the support of the country. They inspired older and first-time voters alike, with their promises to bring about electoral reform and usher in a new political age; to not just oppose any rise in tuition fees, but to abolish them; to build a progressive tax system; to invest in renewable energy; to truly represent the people.

Come election day, however, the new-found support for the Lib Dems was nowhere to be found – no doubt due in part to the electoral system acting against them. The voters who had put their faith in the party, particularly students and first-time voters, were now facing the serious prospect of all their efforts achieving nothing. All hope now rested in the idea of a progressive ‘rainbow coalition’.

For days, the nation waited to learn who would lead the new government. Demonstrations occurred to remind the Liberal Democrats, who now found themselves kingmakers in a hung parliament, that they had promises that they must live up to.

They didn’t. One year ago, a Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition Government was formed. Many of the key pledges of the Liberal Democrats, and the hopes and desires they represented, were crushed there and then. Abolition of fees would become an allowance to abstain on raising tuition fees, and introducing STV became a referendum on AV linked in the same bill with Conservative gerrymandering.

May 2010 would become the start of the program of the most regressive policies ever seen in modern Britain. Policies that sacrificed the public sector and welfare in favour of making the richest in society even richer. Policies that would destroy the aspirations of generations to come. Policies that put the economy, and the environment at great risk. Policies that would rapidly radicalise the people of Britain.

When They Say Cut Back

In 2010, the Coalition Government held the Comprehensive Spending Review, which outlined plans to cut £81bn in public funding up to 2015, putting 500,000 public sector jobs at risk, destroying public welfare, cutting funding for the arts, and the scrapping of EMA. The Government was proposing massive cuts, whilst doing nothing to prevent the £120bn tax shortfall from dodging and uncollection, or halting the disgusting bonuses and damaging practice of the financial sector. The Government had declared war on the very people it exists to protect.

With peoples lives and livelihoods at stake, people all across the country began to mobilise. One week after the cuts were announced, UK Uncut made their first strike back against the cuts by shutting down a store belonging to Vodafone – a company who have dodged £6bn in tax. In the coming weeks and months, the now famous scissor logo of the decentralised protest group would appear in shops and banks all across the country; peacefully demonstrating against those responsible for the deficit, those who should be paying the price instead of the public. The fightback had begun.

NUS Demo Lition March, photo credit: Andrew Moss

Later that Autumn, the Browne Review was published, and the Government set in motion plans to make real term cuts to Higher Education of between 80% and 100%, whilst trebling tuition fees to £9,000. The higher education policies, which I blogged about at the time, will actually increase the deficit, whilst destroying education, and putting jobs and the economy at risk. With young people facing the prospect of high costs for poor education, coupled with high youth employment, students took to the streets in their tens of thousands to fight for public education, in days of action called by the National Union of Students, and later by the National Campaign Against Fees And Cuts. The scenes from these demonstrations would become the face of public discontent, with images of Edward Woollard throwing a fire extinguisher off of Millbank, and with video of police dragging Jodie McIntyre from his wheelchair, whilst children as young as 12 were kettled on Westminster Bridge for hours on end. The winter saw these same students take the fight to their own institutions, occupying and teaching the alternative, including at my own University here in Aberystwyth.

March For The Alternative

Going into 2011, the demonstrations and protests so far had largely been decentralised events organised by the people themselves. This continued to be true in the first few months of this year, where in January 15,000 students and workers marched on London, and in February where a new wave of student occupations occurred. This monopoly of the people was all about to change however, with the trade unions working together to organise what would turn into one of the biggest demonstrations in British since the turn of the century, as around 500,000 shut down London in opposition to the cuts to public services. With the funding and organisational abilities of all the unions, it was possible for mass mobilisation, which meant this demonstration had people from all walks of life standing together in solidarity against the cuts, be they pensioners, students, single parents, public sector workers, lecturers, farmers, disabled, unemployed – whatever you can think of, they were there.

March 26th was when these grassroots local networks of activists, national campaigns, unions, and the public all came together with one united voice. The day would stand as testament to the public opposition to the Government’s shameless attack on society. The people had come to be radicalised, radical Britain had well and truly been born.

Strike Whilst The Iron Is Hot

Since the national march on the 26th March, people have gone back to their communities, to continue the fight in their local area. Students are expressing their outrage at tuition fees and funding cuts, with more left-wing candidates being elected to local unions, as well as within the NUS. We’ve also seen UCU strike over pensions, and on June 30th, 4 unions, PCS, UCU, NUT and ATL, representing around 1 million workers, will be on strike. June 30th is a vital opportunity for students and workers to once more stand side by side, in solidarity against the cuts. The Education Activist Network is urging everyone, regardless of who you are, to join those teachers and lecturers on the picket lines.

We cannot afford to let the anti-cuts momentum waiver, and so it is heartening to see that as activists continue to shut down banks and stores across Britain, the unions are ramping up the fight. The people must continue to campaign for the government to tackle tax dodging and bankers bonuses, rather than destroy education and dismantle the NHS. We must fight, and we must win.

A System of Abuse, Betrayal, and Alienation In 1997, Labour swept to power, receiving a disproportionately large number of seats compared to their vote share, thanks to the electoral system of FPTP used in the United Kingdom. Labour promised positive change for the country, but what we saw was the enshrinement in British politics of ...

On Monday afternoon, I attended a hustings at my college, with Julian Lewis, incumbent Tory for New Forest East. Shortly thereafter, I tweeted that I had “just spent an hour listening to the scaremongering of a corrupt, paranoid homophobe“ – not the first time I have declared him to be such, after I first met him in the spring of 2009, just before the expenses scandal went public. Since I published this tweet, I have been contacted by several bloggers, journalists, and reporters asking for details on just what was said.

In response to the first enquiry, from Left Foot Forward, I outlined the event as I recalled it bearing in mind I did not take notes, as I was not expecting anything to come of the encounter. Whilst the statement contains paraphrasing due to lack of notes, it was written only shortly after the event, and is as accurate as can be expected, and almost any omitted details weren’t relevant to the points discussed, or relevant enough for me to remember them. As such, I disagree with Julian Lewis’ claim that what I have said was “both incomplete and inaccurate”. Although there was one thing I neglected to mention – that he said his vote against civil adoption was about the child’s rights not those of the civil partners’ (as if somehow a homosexual family is detrimental to a child’s welfare?).

In my statement, I mention that he compares the risks of homosexual sex to fighting in the armed services. A point he clarifies and confirms (so much for inaccurate?) in a response to pinknews – “When it comes to legalising practices that involve serious risk, I believe the higher limit should apply. This is the reason we no longer allow 16 and 17-year-old into front-line situations in the Armed Forces, for example.”

To this I repeat the question asked of him at the hustings, and I invite Julian Lewis to point to scientific evidence proving that homosexual sex involves a level of risk so much greater than that of heterosexual sex, that a higher age limit should apply.

Below is a copy of the statement as sent to the Lymington Times

Brockenhurst College, on Monday, where this week all the New Forest East candidates are coming in for a Q&A session separately.

firstly, in his “presentation” on defence, he was talking about how it’s ridiculous to vote lib dem because they want to fully scrap trident and all deterrents, to which i corrected him as it’s non like-for-like replacement. he kept insisting that if we don’t have nuclear weapons, we are at greater risk, and that the liberal idea of disarmament is ridiculous. He said exclusively using cruise missiles would lead to world war 3 due to other countries believing them to be nuclear warheads when they were not.

Then, in the Q&A session, he would constantly drift off topic into areas he’d pre-prepared, such as how voting lib dem results in another 5 years of brown. how there’s only two real choices – LAB and CON. He said that coalition governments never work, pointing to 1960s Germany, and that the party in 3rd place percentage wise shouldn’t have such a large say (despite our current system still allowing those in 3rd to have more seats, as seen when the recent poll with the LD on 33% is calculated)

Questioned on his gay rights votes, he continued his claims that homosexuality/anal sex alone poses risk of HIV/AIDS, and that is why he still opposes gay sex at 16. Someone put it to him that it is no more dangerous than any sexual activity, to which he insisted on proof, but when asked to do the same – over 10 years after he already made up his mind, he said he didn’t have figures and it would have to be a project to find them. He then made a comparison that gay sex is as big a health risk as being a soldier, and that they don’t let people fight in the army until the age of majority, so why should gay sex be allowed at 16 if fighting in a war isn’t. He also said “I know it’s cliché, but… some of my best friends are gay”

When it came to expenses, and his votes against transparency and reform, he quickly spun it to suggest his private members bill that prevents the publication of MPs Addresses from FOI Requests was a good thing, and that “in this state of heightened terror” it was unacceptable to have 646 insecure addresses available to the public. He then said that the publication of his expenses (including £119 for a trouser press that he explained at the time of the scandal as needed “otherwise [he'd] be up all night ironing”, and an attempt to claim £6000 for a floor), was purely because the reporter from the telegraph had a personal vendetta against him, as the journalist had been opposing the MPs Addresses legislation Julian Lewis pushed through.

He also expressed support for the Whips Office as it presently works.

Anticipating contact from Julian Lewis’ office himself regarding the matter, I would like to say that every part of my original tweet holds true. At the hustings he was scaremongering by suggesting the only choice was Vote Tory, otherwise it’s 5 more years of Brown, as well as the claims that nuclear disarmament would potentially lead to war. He is corrupt by any standard definition, as evident through his expenses claims and opposition to increased expenses scrutiny, as well as voting against reforming Parliament to be more democratic. He is paranoid, as he claims anti-FOI legislation is a good thing due to ridiculous claims of risk of terrorism, something I’d more often expect to hear from New Labour, and strongly fought against the publication of his ‘home’ (whether it be his first home, second, or his Southampton flat) address, and he is evidently homophobic, voting against gay rights on numerous occasions, justified by shocking unsubstantiated claims. Indeed, I wonder if he’ll put forward a bill in the next parliament to increase the age of consent for sexual intercourse among the black population, given claims that they are also more likely to pass on HIV? Or would racism be one step too far for this out-of-touch politician?

On Monday afternoon, I attended a hustings at my college, with Julian Lewis, incumbent Tory for New Forest East. Shortly thereafter, I tweeted that I had "just spent an hour listening to the scaremongering of a corrupt, paranoid homophobe" - not the first time I have declared him to be such, after I ...

Today, a general election was declared. It was also the day that the human rights infringing, industry-drafted, protectionist Digital Economy Bill had its 2nd Reading in the commons, before being passed through the wholly undemocratic process of wash-up in the coming days.

The controversial bill would see the death of public wi-fi, houses being disconnected on allegation of copyright infringement – with them having to prove innocence by paying for an appeal after the fact, photographers and works creators having work taken and exploited by industry without consent, or as one MP put it (in an endorsement of the bill!) – “putting creativity before freedom” – despite the fact the bill mentions not once the content creator or artist, and instead refers only to the rights holders – most often record labels or publishers, not the artists who created the works.

Understandably there has been outrage over the bill itself, and the government’s insistence on passing it without true scrutiny and debate: Over 20,000 letters and e-mails to MPs, over 35,000 signatures on the Number 10 petition against the bill, 100,000s of tweets, campaigns against the bill from consumer groups, business groups, ISPs, the  public, and the Pirate Party; concerns from the JCHR and the Law Society of Scotland that the bill breaches human rights, one of the  most discussed topics on social media worldwide, even on the day of the declaration of the election.

Guess how many of our great ‘Representatives’ turned up to the debate today?

(more…)

Today, a general election was declared. It was also the day that the human rights infringing, industry-drafted, protectionist Digital Economy Bill had its 2nd Reading in the commons, before being passed through the wholly undemocratic process of wash-up in the coming days. The controversial bill would see the death of public wi-fi, houses being disconnected ...

Well, it’s started with a change – Coordinated Universal Time  ticked over to read 2010:01:01:00:00:00, so that’s at least one thing that’s different; but just else will be different in this coming year to the years prior?

Firstly, VAT has just risen to 17.5% again, so expect price rises immediately, or phased in over time depending on the retailer. I would have thought it wise to have extended the VAT break to a later date, as a price rise whilst we’re only just approaching the end of the recession could run the risk of reducing sales, and leading to a double dip; many retailers, in deciding to freeze the increase for a while, seem to be thinking along similar lines.

Related to this, the UK, on May 6th most likely, will have a General Election. Unless a major upset happens, we’re currently looking at a Conservative Government with a small majority, or even forming a minority or coalition government from a hung parliament. But will a shift to a blue government really bring about much change, after all New Labour was an attempt to shift Labour towards the Conservatives, and Cameron’s Conservatives pull themselves towards New Labour? Yes, and no. Both sides promise dangerously low investment, and even cuts, in industry that desperately needs investment, such as eco-technology and energy, sciences, and education. Labour want to balance investment by cutting it in areas they don’t like, the Tories want to destroy the public sector, all the while supporting the renewal of hugely expensive, weapons of mass destruction. The Tories want to slash taxes for the rich, whilst doing little for the middle and lower classes, and Labour aren’t progressive enough to properly support those who need it. Labour risk destroying an entire sector of the economy, and people’s rights, with the ghastly Digital Economy Bill (which the Pirate Party, and non-party organisations such as ORG are fiercely opposing), whilst the Tories are so out of touch as to seem not to even care about the sector at all, with their pledge to scrap the much needed, albeit inadequate, “broadband tax”. So ultimately, we’re screwed either way.

But the winds of change do blow in politics this year. Approximately one-third of the House of Commons will consist of MPs new to the house following the election, with a likely small increase in independents, especially with Jury Team out there supporting them. Many of these new MPs will be replacing those corrupt, out-of-touch bastards who saw fit to abuse a ridiculously poorly regulated allowances system, squandering public money to pay for their first class seats, their mansions, their moats and trouser presses, and all the other crap they apparently can’t afford on their “chumps change” of a salary of £64,766 – some £40,000 more than the ‘average’ wage earner in the UK. Maybe, just maybe, these replacements will be less self-obsessed, more in touch with modern Britain, and able to represent their constituents properly. Maybe, but maybe not… I’m not getting my hopes up for this lot.  Assuming Mr Cameron has a brain, he’ll call an election in 2014 to coincide with the EU Elections, and that year, I feel, will be a big turning point in both British, and European politics. Indeed, 2014 is where I’m focussing my own efforts, not withstanding the results of the 2013 local elections, and where I plan to make my entry into politics under the banner of the Pirate Party of the United Kingdom if I do not do so in 2013.

Another change which will hopefully happen this year is the introduction of, or the preparations to introduce some form of electoral reform; however this will only happen if the Conservatives continue to fail to set themselves apart as anything other than “not-Labour”, and we end up with a Liberal coalition. Such a result is quite frankly the best outcome we could hope for. British politics needs radical change and sweeping reforms, and this would be the place to start, in this year. So let’s hope it happens.

Moving away from politics, 2010 will be bringing about many changes to my personal life. I’ve got exams in a few weeks, exams that will ultimately decide whether I get into Aberystwyth; my university of choice, have to utilise the terrible clearing system in a (post-)recession climate, or just end up not getting into university at all. This of course means I’m also finishing college this summer, and quite frankly I’ll be glad to be leaving, because that college was a pretty exhausting place to be, crushing and suppressing the hobbies, hopes and interests that I had when I first attended there. And running alongside all this, those few friends I do have will all also be heading off to university and whatnot themselves, so this year is really our last year together, and I want to spend as much of it as I can with them. In reality I realise I probably won’t see them much more than I did this past year, and that is upsetting to me; but even so, spending some time with them is better than none at all, right?

So there you go – 2010 will bring change right from the start, but it’s not necessarily good change, and that’s incredibly frustrating, especially for a powerless control freak like me, who just wants to be able to change things, make them better, improve on what we have.

Addendum: Whilst writing this post my  site went down, luckily I learnt long ago to always copy what I’ve written to the clipboard just in case something like this happens. Downside is I lost links and stuff I’d put in. Let this be a lesson to you all, copy to clipboard, and save drafts often. I also realised I never got around to talking about 2010 in technology like I planned, but I can’t be bothered to write more for this.

Well, it's started with a change - Coordinated Universal Time just ticked over to read 2010:01:01:00:00:00 (give or take a few seconds for however out of sync this server may be), so that's at least one thing that's different; but just else will be different in this coming year to the years prior?