#Austerity is why white #WorkingClass deserted to @UKIP: why doesn’t @UKLabour say how it would end #cuts @michaelmeacher It’s true there’s huge disgruntlement at the #political establishment for the current disillusioning state of Britain, and in particular for the deeply run-down #economy, and that was the real reason for the UKIP so-called surge ( though actually a significant fall-back from UKIP’s vote last year). Of course there was constant #vilification of #Europe and #immigrants, but they are merely convenient #scapegoats for the real cause of Britain’s current malaise which is 4 years of austerity and the bitterness, hurt and anger that this has provoked. This is not to suggest that there are not real and serious problems about both Europe and immigration which certainly need to be addressed. But in normal times (i.e. not in the midst of the longest recession for a century) European Union has never been a key issue for more than 3% of the electorate, and even immigration (which is a much more complex and difficult issue) only rises up the political agenda at times of #EconomicCrisis when wages are falling and jobs are hard to get. Neither is the real root cause of the deep disaffection sweeping the country: austerity and endless cuts are the real culprits. Against that background it is staggering that the real causes of public frustration and anger received such little attention in these #elections. The people who deserted to #UKIP in their droves were older white working class voters who are pig-sick of being told, by both parties, that whoever wins the next election there will be another 4-5 years of austerity and continuing #depression in their standard of living. #Growth is the manifestly obvious #alternative which cries out to be implemented since 4 years of austerity have reduced the budget deficit by just £10bn (still leaving the black hole in the national accounts at £108bn), yet 2% growth would reduce it by £30bn in just 1 year. Of course the Conservatives will talk up their own so-called ‘#recovery’, but it has no legs when #wages, #productivity, #business #investment and net #exports still remain dramatically negative – i.e this current recovery is not sustainable. So why isn’t The Labour Party banging the drum loud and clear for sustainable growth and widespread job creation? That’s the message that the country as a whole, and #Labour voters in particular, are crying out to hear. It would provide the central #narrative knitting together the several threads that Ed Miliband has already laid down for dealing with the #CostOfLiving crisis, by setting out a credible and powerful economic framework by which all these individual initiatives can be funded and implemented. If that were done, the 2-3 million Labour votes that have been lost to UKIP or abstention – votes that could well prove critical in a tight general election – could undoubtedly be won back. So what is Labour waiting for?
Posted on: Mon, 26 May 2014 11:46:57 +0000
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