Accentuate the Positive (Part 2)

A VISION FOR BRITAIN

Something fundamental is needed to change our society. We are not in Kansas anymore. Capitalism has broken, in fact, in October 2008, we came within a fag paper’s width of the collapse of global monetary systems, and all which that would have entailed. Socialism, true socialism, has never been allowed to fill the gap. I happen to believe, and would argue We need a completely NEW landscape. Something different.

At the poll in May, I argued for a massive boycott of the election, a low turnout of seismic proportions, combined with a comparative “Everest” of spoilt ballots from those who did turn out, I said, would surely send them the signal, all of them, all of the parties, that their ideas, their policies, their proposals, were limp, shrunken, dead and moribund. They needed to go away, and think again.

Sadly, that did not happen, and the three major parties were allowed to get away with sterile and negative policies, although I did, and still do, question the legitimacy of the result. However, that would take us in the direction of party politics, which we have been asked to eschew in this thread, and therefore I will, instead, try and be positive in suggesting some key points of policy where I think things could be different. My vision for the future, if you like.

In general, I think that there needs to be an alternative to the free market and socialism. Especially as socialism in this country has, in reality, meant The Labour Party. As Orwell put it in “The Lion and the Unicorn”

It has never been able to achieve any major change, because except in purely domestic matters it has never possessed a genuinely independent policy. It was and is primarily a party of trade unions, devoted to raising wages and improving working conditions

Since this is likely to be a very long post I think, rather than risk crashing the software, I will post it in chunks and summarise my main points under each heading.

ECONOMY

I believe that the way out of the debt/deficit jungle is to grow the UK economy and repay what we owe through a fairer taxation system and a growing tax take as the economy grows. Key to this in my manifesto would be the creation of a new sector in the economy: social enterprise. Social enterprise is government capitalism that makes a profit and then uses it for the public good. This is the economic idea which underlies Rooftree, for instance (see under housing). Let us be clear about what social enterprise is not. It is not outsourcing. It is not privatisation, it is the government setting up companies to do things that need doing and to turn a profit out of them, a profit which is then re-invested in the public’s interest.

We should also be conscious, in taking economic decisions, that we govern our own country, it is not government by the markets. Nor is it government by the EU, which takes too much money out of this country for very little return.

DEFENCE

I am in favour of a phased withdrawal from Afghanistan, I think our troops are behaving there with the customary bravery and aplomb which you would expect but in effect all they are doing is being professional targets. My “default” position for the withdrawal would be the White Cliffs of Dover, ideally, but given that we would already be abandoning Afghanistan to the Taleban, we can’t afford for Pakistan to go the same way so we would probably have to retain some sort of presence along the border. Although to be honest, the US should really now shoulder the burden if they want to carry on, along with some of our EU colleagues who have been backwards at coming forwards with men and materiel.

I would keep the aircraft carriers, I think it is an act of criminal folly for a nation such as ours which relies on maritime trade routes to leave itself exposed for a decade with no seaborne air cover capacity. Likewise I would go ahead with the replacement for Trident, reluctantly, with my arm forced up my back, and not really wishing to start from here, but recognising the realpolitik of the situation Blair and Bush landed us in.

Ultimately, I would like to see our army, as indeed I would like to see all the world’s armies, evolve into an international rescue and humanitarian force to deal with natural disasters, coupled with the necessary forces retaimed on British soil for the defence of the realm. These could also double as a civil defence force in time of floods and other disasters.

JUSTICE/PRISONS

I would repeal many of the harsh anti-libertarian measures which have been smuggled through by the government under the pretext of “anti-terrorism” legislation since 2001.

While recognising that things such as CCTV and speed cameras have their virtue in providing evidence, we should not go down the road of over reliance on them, there is no substitute for professionally trained and resourced police officers.

The prisons are full of people who should not be there. I would establish a canon of offences where, if you were found guilty of one of these relatively minor offences you would be eligible for training and eventual release into a civilian civil defence force (see above) but of course if you did anything wrong or illegal while on such a programme you would go straight back to prison and serve the remainder of your full original sentence without the option.

I would consider legalising cannabis (and taxing its sale and supply) below a certain strength, or of certain types. This would free up an enormous amount of police manpower.

EDUCATION

I would like to see a return to the respect for education as a profession. I think that the current situation, the whole system, is posited on the assumption that teachers jerk around when they pull on the purse-strings, whoever they are at the time. Nobody in education seems interested in learning for its own sake any more, only as a passport to money, or a commodity. And if it comes to a choice between pedagogy and pounds sterling, we know which one will win out. I want to see a return to inspirational teaching, a curriculum that allows the teachers some flexibility to tailor the content to bring out the best in each individual pupil and yet still meets recognised national standards, that are not lowered every year.

I would also like to see an end to any special status for schools which is provided by the state. I think faith schools are potentially divisive within society and if people want to found a faith school, then it should be a private educational establishment and not funded by the state. However, I do believe that religion and morality should still be taught in schools, along with other things which kids will actually find useful (how to touch type, and running a bank account, to name but two)

I do not believe that turning schools into academies “levels up” the educational playing field, I believe it actually increases the division between the schools that get all of the resources lavished on them and the bog-standard comprehensive.

I also believe that people do not want “choice”. Choice is the false product of the current inequalities in the education system and what they really want is a good, competent school somewhere near at hand where they can send their children and know they can be educated.

HEALTH

Clearly the NHS cannot be a bottomless pit for ever for everyone. I would like to see the establishment of a series of principles of treatment based on clinical need and decided by the medical professionals in charge of the treatment, not artificially massaged to meet targets or sold between different medical establishments

Other than that it sometimes ties itself in knots doing things that are peripheral to the main causes of illness and death in the UK, and needs to re-focus on its core ideals, I think the NHS is best left alone to do what it does well, curing people. However, one area which does need reform is the provision of affordable dentistry for people who are currently priced out of the market, however that may be achieved.

TRANSPORT

I would re-nationalise the railways over a period of time as the franchises expired and turn them back over to one national network, run by a social enterprise called British Rail.

I would also investigate the economic benefits, as opposed to the ecological demerits, of re opening closed branch lines and/or narrowboat carrying on the canal system.

Ideally, one would want to look at a more local means of production and distribution for materials, to reduce the strain on long-distance motorway freight.

CLIMATE CHANGE

We should be treating this with the same urgency and despatch as Churchill treated the buildng of Spitires and the development of radar in world war two. Action this day! This is a perfect area for the creation of social enterprises to stimulate growth in the economy and potential British exports, too.

IMMIGRATION AND THE EU

I have lumped these together because they are inextricably linked. We need to disengage from the political process of the EU and regain control of our own borders, then – and only then – we can begin to formulate an immigration policy based on who WE want here and what skills they can contribute.

I also believe that instead of locking asylum seekers up and paying them vouchers, we should give them an NI number and let them work and contribute taxes while their cases are heard, but if they put a foot wrong or try to disappear during this process, then they go straight back without the option. In other words, we give them a chance to show their worth to the UK, and hopefully they will be sensible enough to grab it with both hands.

HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS

For the sake of brevity I am just going to link to Rooftree, even though I am taking the site down soon.

http://www.rooftree.org.uk

FARMING AND THE ENVIRONMENT

I would like to see the subsidies paid for set aside paid instead to people who produce organic produce and I would like to see a more humane regime for animals in farming.

I would retain (and indeed, enforce) the ban on fox hunting and I would suspend the badger culling trials and put the effort into finding a vaccine solution for Bovine TB instead.

DEVOLUTION & CONSTITUTION

Abolish the Welsh and Scottish assemblies and bring them back under the control of Westminster, on the grounds that the political identity of the island should be congruent with its geographical identity. Likewise get rid of "mayors" who are another unecessary and costly layer of local buraeucracy.

Put the hereditary Lords back in the Lords, but increase the number of life peers to reflect the makeup of society as a whole

Retain the Royal Family as a bulwark against arriviste politicians with ideas above their station.

Limit MPs' expenses, outside work, second homes etc. and introduce a residence qualification. If you want to represent a constituency, you should have lived there for at least two years first as your primary place of residence.

CONCLUSION

Think of how social enterprises could change the landscape for the people of Britain.

Feed the hungry. House the homeless. Treat the sick. Teach the Children. Cherish the animals. End the Wars. Punish the Guilty. Fulfil the spirit. We need a gentler more tolerant and respectful society like we had in the 1950s, one where people realise there is more to life than a new sofa from DFS

It is not rocket science. All that is lacking is the political will.

And every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill made low. The crooked straight and the rough places plain: the crooked straight, and the rough places plain.