Change is the word you’ll have heard most around this election. It’s actually become a fetish – something that people are obsessed with, without rationally thinking exactly what the kind of change it is that they want – as I blogged about in a series of posts beginning here, and as Bill Bailey has put it very simply here:
What we must be aware of is the effect that at Conservative government will have. If we look at history the changes it will make will make the rich richer and the poor poorer. Public services will be cut. As Kinnock noted in his famous speech on in 1983:
If Margaret Thatcher wins on Thursday – I warn you not to be ordinary, I warn you not to be young, I warn you not to fall ill, I warn you not to get old…
Comments
4 responses to “Spare Any Change? | ‘I Warn You Not to be Poor’”
Hi Kester,
Thanks again for your interesting, challenging thoughts on various aspects of the election carnival. Thicket though I may be, I’m getting the vibe that you’ll be waving a red flag tomorrow (metaphorically at least). I understand your thoughts on national don’t vote conservatives day (which I will be attending) but I wonder what your thoughts are on team yellow? I feel your coverage of lab/con has been clear, but what of the other options?
As a related point what do you think of this: http://www.giveyourvote.org/?
Any thoughts?
Kester… thanks for this blog which is continually thought provoking and helpful.
You have convinced me that voting tory would lead to a more unequal society and that this would be a bad thing. I think you have unfairly villified them in recent posts (maybe i want you to, like, throw a few more ‘perhaps’s to make me comfortable =] – its the sense of hatred and the idea that the tory party is unredeemable/devoid of any good that seems out of joint with what else i’ve read here) but despite this, I think that the basic thrust of your argument holds true.
I also think that the aspects of their policy that i do really like are… frankly vague, and i’m not sure that they’ve demonstrated that the society they are trying to describe would actually work in practice. And then there’s all the “results based funding” type stuff, which just smacks (IMHO) of the worst of OfStEd etc (my Dad was a teacher and i know how unfair and unhelpful that approach can be from seeing how it treated his school).
So you have helped convinced me not to vote Conservative. But the Conservatives have convinced me not to vote Labour. Primarily because they plan to continue to lead the country to live beyond our means. There are figures flying round at the moment that the government is spending around £1.36 for every £1 raised in tax. surely this is unsustainable? A government that is acting in this way is hardly likely to regulate the banks and discourage personal debt, if it is leading by example in spending money it doesn’t have. There’s also the matter of trust – ok, so there are aspects of Labour’s manifesto that sound good, but are they any more likely to deliver on those than their promises about university tuition fees, or european referendums?
So if the Tories have convinced me not to vote Labour and vice versa, does this mean i should vote Lib dem? Or is it simply that no-one has gone to the trouble of pointing out to me why i shouldn’t vote for them (actually, people have, but not as much). If only there was someone who could advocate for me…
Any insight gratefully received – i’d like to know your thoughts especially on my misgivings about Labour, cos i think you know more about these issues than i do and i’d appreciate the benefit of your insight.
Sorry for the length of this – i tend to do my thinking out loud. Thanks for providing a space in which i can do some thinking.
You have to vote in your local area, that’s the main thing. So think about what is going on in your constituency, and whether it’s a huge majority or not will make some of your mind up. If it is, say, hugely Tory, then a vote for Labour might improve their hand in any coalition agreements.
Basically, I can’t see the LibDems going in with the Torys, so given that they may well be kingmakers, a stronger Labour turnout will help forge that coalition. If it is a marginal seat, then there’s nothing wrong with a LibDem vote in my opinion.
What I think may well happen is that the Torys don’t get the outright majority that they need, even with Unionists, and given that their stance on Europe is so different to that of LibDems I think a left-ish coalition could emerge in which better fiscal control could come via Vince Cable, and Brown would be deposed.
Hope that’s not muddied the waters any more!
Thanks Kester. It did muddy things, but in a helpful way =] I still feel happy with the decision I ultimately made, but i’m watching current events unfold with interest. Will look forward to hearing your thoughts.