Why has no one else pointed out that the UK has entered a new period of Thatcherism? If you look at the policies of Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves, what we are seeing is a classic Thatcherite squeeze on public finances. Councils up and down the country are being forced to slash all manner of budgets which make our towns, counties and cities great places to live in. Starmer's answer to everything is "£22 Billion black hole". In Barnet, our council has cancelled the launch of its culture strategy, on the basis that "we shouldn't be spending money on culture when we are cutting vital services". Across the country, it has been made crystal clear that things which urgently need sorting out won't be, unless "there is reform". What is this reform? Many of us suspect that it is code for privatisation and outsourcing. Labour clearly hasn't learned the lessons of Gordon Brown's PFI initiatives that have saddled taxpayers with decades of huge bills. that could have easily been avoided simply by the taxpayer paying for the projects in the first place.
No one doubts that the UK's finances are in a mess and it is clear that after fourteen years, it is the fault of Tory mismanagement of the economy. The Tories ran out of ideas, so spent most of the last decade arguing with each other. Many of us hoped that Labour would come in and sort things out. Energy companies have made extortionate profits as global prices spiral. How does Labour respond? They take away pensioners fuel allowance. Water companies pump huge amounts of sewage into our rivers, lakes and seaside. What does Labour do? Nothing. These awful companies should be fined and the executives should be held personally liable. If they don't like it, hand the companies over to the the government to run.
But the fundamental problem with the UK is the fact that we have terrible productivity in the economy. This can only be fixed by investment and better labour practices. UK firms should be putting pressure on the government to support growth and productivity improvements. FOr generations, UK growth has been driven by immigratuon rather than productivity. I am not anti immigrant, but I am very pro productivity. Unless the UK addresses this issue, we will forever be in the spiral of failure that started with the credit crunch, when our reliance on banking and services was exposed as a failure.
How can the government do this? It needs fundamental reform of our tax system, our education system and the benefits system. Rachel Reeve is correct that it is ridiculous giving millionaire pnesioners a cash bung for fuel, when families in poverty get nothing. But there is a huge disconnect. The long term solution to poverty is education and economic growth.. Our current system simply fails to deliver this. Thatcherite squeezes on public spending show a complete failure to understand the issue. We aspire to keep young people at school until they are eighteen, but they leave with few useful skills for a life working. We should be funnelling young people into apprenticeships with work placements, developing skills that lead to well paid jobs, from the age of 14 or 15. When I was fourteen, I did a building studoes course. It was one of the few truly useful things I learned. I worked as a decorator for three years when I left school. I am eternally grateful that FCHS offered it for thicko's like me.
The trouble is that people like Reeve and Starmer look down on people doing manual labour and in trades. They hate the concept of getting their hands dirty. When it comes down to it, that is why the UK is in a mess. Thatcherism is not the answer. People getting their hands dirty and working is.
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