”Group of Labour MPs urge No 10 to be tougher on migration to fend off Reform”. This was a recent headline in the Guardian. A headline that suggests Labour MPs are feeling the warm stale beer breath of Nigel Farage on their necks. Fearing not for the UK, just scared of losing their cosy parliament job. Why do they fear this? What has caused the seemingly sudden surge in support for Reform UK. Let’s explore.
A Patronising Government
When Maggie Thatcher became PM in 1979 she changed the landscape of politics. She transformed politics into the toxic beast that it is today. The post-war Labour government introduced the Welfare State to address the ‘Five Giants’ of disease, squalor, want, ignorance and idleness. Thatcher ruthlessly dismantled it. She created a government that put the profit of big business over the welfare of common people. No longer did politicians work to service the people. Instead politicians worked to serve corporate executives and to serve themselves. The career politician was born. This led to an increasing amount of politicians turning their back on what would benefit society as a whole. Instead they became more motivated into appeasing the rich and the super rich. Those on low income, unemployed and on welfare where increasingly left to fend for themselves. The language towards these groups grew harsher and more patronising. Calling them ‘Work Shy’ and ‘scroungers’. This nastiness was amplified by legacy media and has grown ever more vile and derogatory in recent years.
Growing Fed up. Desperate For Change
This has all led to the common person feeling completely disillusioned in government and politicians. People feel that the government just don’t care. Don’t care if they starve. Don’t care if they suffer and don’t care if they are unwell. People don’t feel heard. They feel ignored. Like nothing they say or do matters because the government won’t listen or won’t ever change to help them. The government have demoralized and demotivated people through decades of harsh and punitive policies. Policies that have punished the poorest and most vulnerable in society. 12 page application, a personality test and two interviews is just too much for a job in a supermarket. It’s humiliating and degrading to have to beg for a job that won’t even pay for the cost of living. Filling out an application the size of War and Peace to claim PIP for your disability. People are forced to jump through hoops just to beg for scraps at the table. It’s soul crushing for millions. Nursing staff working full time, forced to food banks because they can’t afford to make ends meet.
Failure To Protect
Then there is all the times government failed to protect people. The disastrous response to the Covid 19 Pandemic resulted in the loss of so many lives. Lives that would have been saved if the government had put people ahead of corporate greed and avarice. The ongoing European Energy Crisis has left 6.1 million UK people in fuel poverty. The Government has made little to no attempt to address the crisis. Leaving many pensioners and vulnerable people to freeze in their home. The Cost of Living Crisis has not been addressed by taxing the super rich. Instead the government has cut back on welfare benefits. The disgusting two child benefit cap has forced 4.3 million children into poverty. A government that would rather appease the super rich than protect children is a government void of compassion and empathy. People are on their knees begging for help as they turn to food banks to feed their families.
The DWP published statistics on food bank use for the first time in March 2023. In 2022/23, 2.3 million people in the UK lived in household which had used a food bank in the previous 12 months. A rate of 3%. This includes 6% of children, 3% of working-age adults, and around 1% of pensioners. Truly grim statistics.
Reform Appeal To The Masses
Reform UK presents itself as an alternative to the traditional political parties, particularly the Conservatives and Labour. Many voters disillusioned with the mainstream political system, find Reform UK’s stance refreshing. People’s desperation to be heard is driving them into the charismatic arms of the populist party. The party has also called for major changes to the public sector, including healthcare and education. Some voters see Reform UK as offering a break from the perceived failures within these services under traditional governance.
It’s A Trap
The reality is Reform UK will only bring more misery to poor and vulnerable people. Reform UK advocates for reducing government spending, including on public services. People often argue that reducing waste and cutting the size of the state is essential for economic growth. In reality such cuts always disproportionately affect vulnerable people. These people rely on public services to get by in their day-to-day lives. An absence of well-funded public services would hurt low-income families, elderly people, and those with disabilities.
Reform UK’s approach to healthcare will involve a focus on reducing public expenditure in the NHS. Introducing more private-sector involvement. Ultimately making healthcare less accessible and more expensive. This would harm the health of those who cannot afford private care, especially low-income individuals and the elderly.
Reform UK’s emphasis on individual freedom and economic liberalism often prioritises reducing taxes and cutting regulation. While this can benefit some, it does not adequately address issues of social inequality. For vulnerable and marginalised individuals, the inequality would be exacerbated.
Green Salvation
Real change lies in the polices of the UK Green Parties. The Green Party supports raising the minimum wage to a Living Wage, which is higher than the current minimum wage. This would ensure that all workers earn enough to cover basic living expenses. This will help lift many working families out of poverty. The Green Party promotes better working conditions. This including equal pay for equal work, secure contracts, and measures to address the exploitation of workers. Helping to protect workers from insecure, low-wage jobs. Offering everyone greater financial security. Those working in the gig economy would benefit greatly from this.
One of the Green Party’s key proposals is the introduction of a Universal Basic Income (UBI). UBI would provide a guaranteed income for all citizens. This would reduce poverty, particularly for those in precarious or low-paid work. Being especially beneficial for working people who face job insecurity. Allowing them to have an essential financial safety net in times of unemployment or underemployment.
A Fork In The Road
It is becoming abundantly clear that UK people are hungry for change. People are fed up. Fed up with the politics of Labour and the Conservatives. People must resist the charm of Reform UK. Only a socialist party like that of The Green Party will give people the change they crave. The change they need.
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