opposition party leader’s questions
By and large, and for better or worse, at least we now know what the Tories are about. In stark contrast to their new-ish logo we know they’re not really THAT green. We’re now aware of the fact that they’re not really against a fourth runway at Heathrow. Deep down we’ve always suspected that potentially revolutionary reforms (aka cuts) across all public services, and especially those within the NHS and social services, were on the cards sooner rather than later. Any doubts were quickly expelled by Theresa May’s ‘go home vans’ and IDS’s savage attacks on the poor, workless, ill and disabled. Recent tax breaks and U-turns have confirmed beyond any reasonable doubt that we are indeed, not all in this together.
The bit that may surprise you is that many of these measures have been necessary and to a large extent, unavoidable. And contrary to the bleating of Ed Balls, they are set to continue and Labour would not do much, if anything, significantly differently. The bad news is that doing the same but ever so slightly slower ain’t going to win them any new friends. Ed Milliband stated some months ago, and reconfirmed it on the most bland & boring ‘Desert Island Discs’ I have ever had the misfortune to listen to, that he is a socialist, through and through. Good on him. But what does this mean exactly: what does it mean to be a socialist when money is tight?
Take the NHS. The old approach of spending more in both real and relative terms is a non-starter. How are we going to treat more and more people for less and less? Ditto, our growing and ageing population? Oh, and what about our schools, and the police force, immigration, Scotland, and our public housing stock, and, and, and, and… The question of choice for Labour is how exactly to square the socialist circle: how do they marry socialism with austerity? I await the answer with baited breath.
