Modern British politics is complex, difficult, divisive and
– well, actually not as boring as usual.
Every morning for the last month or so I’ve woken up,
reached for my phone, and scanned my Twitter feed for whatever fresh political
upheavals occurred overnight. If I’ve managed to go from cynical apathy to
genuine interest, I can’t imagine how people with a lifetime of political investment
behind them must be feeling.
Unfortunately it’s also made me very conscious of the gaps
in my knowledge.
The Referendum was an easy vote – for me at least – but if
there was a general election tomorrow, I really don’t know who I’d vote for.
Maybe this isn’t because choosing between the current party
leaders is like being offered a selection of mouldering food and asked which
you’d like to eat for the next five years.
Maybe it’s because I don’t properly understand the choices...
right?
So how does British politics actually work?
Essentially, all of the parties sit somewhere on the
Left-to-Right-wing spectrum.
I could write a half a dissertation on what that means but
you could just look at this diagram instead. Though bear in mind (especially
when looking at the ‘support’ part) that this graphic is five or six years old
and based on American politics.
So if I were to put the main UK parties in order of extremity
from Left to Right, I’d say: Greens, Labour/SNP (they’re so similar it’s hard
to rank them), Lib Dems, Conservatives, UKIP.
Of course, I’m over-simplifying; it’s not just a linear
sliding scale because a lot depends on the way
Left and Right wing values are interpreted and manifested in policy. Go far
enough Left or Right and you’ll end up on the other side: Stalin was about as
far Left as you can go and he has a great deal more in common with Hitler than the
Green Party.*
So, the age-old question: where do you stand?
Typically wealthier employers who aren’t in a social
minority tend to vote Right, while minority groups and poorer workers tend to
vote Left.
The parties know this, and they play to it.
The most recent Conservative Manifesto, for example,
proposed changes to legislation that would mean ‘industrial action in [...]
essential services would require the support of at least 40 per cent of all
those entitled to take part in strike ballots’ (not just those who vote),
making strikes more difficult to orchestrate.**
Generally advantageous for employers, generally disadvantageous
for workers.
But again, I’m over-simplifying.
The Conservatives have just chosen their second female Prime
Minister (from two female candidates) before Labour have had female PMs at all.
The Greens’ voting pool contains a lot of young middle-class liberals who
aren’t from poor backgrounds. There’s also a lot of talk about UKIP replacing
Labour as the party of the working classes, which is a pretty big swing on the
Left-to-Right spectrum.
There are people who have voted for the same party all their
lives and party ‘heartlands’ in different areas of the country. I’ve lived in a
staunch Conservative heartland most of my life which means, regardless of how I
vote in General Elections, my representative in Parliament will probably be Conservative.
Though I’ll admit to voting Conservative in the last election anyway (I know,
boo hiss).
Today I honestly don’t know if I stand by that decision or
not.
I won’t deny that – individually and on policy level – they’ve
said and done some pretty abominable things about LGBT+ and women’s rights in
the past. I’m also disappointed they’ve raised tuition fees, saddened by their
disdain for the arts and social sciences, and appalled by the way the NHS seems
to be going.
Though as with anything in politics and economics, direct cause
and effect is impossible to establish. These things might have happened anyway if
the government was different or they might not. I don’t know enough about how
it all works to be able to say.
And besides, not much good can be said about the legacy of
the previous Labour government either. Blair and Brown’s time in office wasn’t
exactly shining beacon of social and economic betterment.
Though maybe it’s easy for me to say that. It’s generally
the most vulnerable who are hit hardest by austerity, so my middle-class background
make me more likely to vote Conservative.
This is another criticism often levelled at Right Wing
politicians: how can we expect a small group of people from incredibly wealthy,
privileged backgrounds to represent our diverse country?
Thankfully Parliament is getting more diverse: Sadiq Khan, a
second-generation immigrant and the son of a bus driver and a seammistress; the
late Jo Cox, the first member of her family to attend university; Ruth Davidson,
a Conservative MP who got engaged to her girlfriend earlier this year. I won’t
deny there’s work to be done but I’m confident it will come with time.
I also don’t think being from a privileged background makes anyone
incapable of empathy by default. Parts of the Left have a way of insinuating
that wealth makes you an inherently greedy, selfish person and, though I’m sure
politicians like that exist, I don’t buy it as a generalisation.
Cameron did often have the privilege criticism directed at
him, and indeed some of his policies were idiotic and poorly-thought-out
(Brexit and the Bedroom Tax to name just two). Despite this, I am sad that he’s
gone.
He was measured, unflappable and seemed like a decent person
to work for which I think is an important quality in a leader. Joblessness is
at a ten-year low, the deficit has been reduced (whether it has been “halved”
as promised is up for debate), and marriage equality laws have finally been passed.
Again, direct cause and effect is impossible to establish but, all things considered,
I think it could have been worse.
As for Cameron’s replacement, I’m confident Boris Johnson
would have been a disaster and 99% sure Michael Gove is actually three aliens in
a lab-grown flesh suit. I didn’t know a lot about Leadsom and the leadership
contest finished itself up before I got around to finding out. I’ve heard
opinions on May ranging from “she’d be perfect for the job right now” to “she’s
the devil incarnate” and have yet to make up my own mind.
So far her Cabinet appointments seem calculated – which isn’t necessarily the same as good. Gove is nowhere to be seen, and
Boris and Jeremy Hunt are being forced to sink or swim in the mess they’ve made
for themselves and the country.
But what about the next general election? In theory it
should take place in 2020 but the Fixed Term Parliament Act means that, if May
could secure the backing of two-thirds of MPs, she could call one now.
I’ve already said I don’t know who I’d vote for in this
scenario. Despite my middle class upbringing, I am also a young female English
graduate from a single-parent family. Surely it would be in my interests to
drift Left?
In truth I’d like to be able to vote Labour in the next
election, but I won’t if Corbyn is still in power.
For me, he’s too divisive to be a credible leader – as
evidenced by the divisions in his own party – and I’m not adverse enough to the
current government to warrant voting him in anyway. I feel like I’d be
endorsing the Jeremy Corbyn Party, not Labour, and that makes me uneasy.
I’m almost certain they couldn’t win a general election if
it was announced tomorrow for exactly that reason, and unfortunately I can’t
see them doing so until Corbyn is no longer leader.
But is he going to? Owen Smith, Corbyn’s only remaining
leadership rival, doesn’t fill me with confidence. It’s pretty clear Corbyn isn’t
going to step down and the support he has from Labour members – many of whom
signed up specifically to support him – looks too great for Smith to stand a
chance.
I’m not sure what kind of authority paying a £3 subscription
gives you against elected MPs with a lifetime of political experience behind
them, but I suppose that’s democracy.
Reading back what I’ve written I realise this post came out more
Right-leaning than I expected. I honestly feel like I’m pretty centralist in my
alignment, but the Right are so widely demonized (especially online among
young-adult audiences) I felt like I needed to compensate.
And regardless of what anyone thinks of the Conservatives,
it’s difficult to deny that they just work.
Their political machine has managed to dismantle and rebuild itself before its
opponents have even read the instruction manual.
The way things are going at the moment, they could well go
unrivalled for a very long time. And I’m not particularly comfortable with that.
The fact is, neither Left- nor Right-wing politics are
sufficient in themselves; nor, I believe, will they ever be. We’ll always vote
in line with our own interests – whatever that might mean – and neither end of
the political spectrum has the means to make everyone happy.
This is why it’s important for the parties not in power have
a say in Parliament; that’s why we have Shadow Cabinet Ministers to disagree
with everything their rival counterparts say.
Balance is the key to good, effective politics. So Labour: do
us a favour by proving me wrong and getting your act together. Your country
needs you.
*For more info and some great diagrams illustrating how this
is possible, go to: https://www.politicalcompass.org/analysis2
**The Conservative Party Manifesto 2015, p. 18
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