Edward Miliband’s Speech.

Edward Miliband’s Speech.

Ed Miliband’s, valedictory last speech, one he did not make, after the election defeat, in an effort to re-engage politicians to the electorate of the country.

      

Over the past 50 years the country has been led by a miss-guided sense of expansive prosperity and the stability of the electorate process that offered a choice of politics with the intention of depicting the tension of voting choice between the right, left, and centre ground, plus extreme or undefined outsiders. This development was cosseted in the apparent growing economy but disguised in a mounting national debt that handed progressive opportunism to either of the two main parties. The strength of these two parties became self- serving, generally concentrated their political aims into privilege parts of the public and private sectors. From this has grown the social disease endemic in the distrust and contempt of politicians with a poisonous division within society that has given rise to a unhealthy fractural acceptance between the affluent rich, middle class and the working (or not) poor. The overall economic expansion and the advantages of a range of new financially technical productive scenarios have allowed politicians of the main parties to engage in their own particular brand of cultural iconic shaping policies. Such policies have often been devised for the betterment of a narrow range of society, generally those that follow a singular political belief system and in doing so have become distanced from the broader unrepresented electorate or indeed one that has also created a clear divisive split in the voting electorate. This shift and social fracture, now evident after that last election, has been marked in a reducing democratic involvement with lowering electoral polling turnout that is decreasing the democratic consensus which provides the legitimacy for governments to act. In this respect one has only to look at the spread of divergence shown up in the elected representation between the southern and northern counties; the south overwhelming taking a conservative individuality insular policy stand and the north looking to a labour collective approach; both parties of which, it has to be said,  does involve the trapping of a certain amount of professed dogma that aims to garner support to themselves but in doing so it has become a means to an end; to be ‘the first past the post’ and win an election at any mendacious cost. Overlay this with the rise of single object political ends like the drive for ever lower taxation, lax economic management, resentment of all social support systems, devolution, immigration, environment, rich vs. poor and manifest in the current evisceration of the Liberal party, the ejection of the conservative and labour in Scotland with the rapid supremacy of SNP, the rise of UKIP and regrettably the struggle for the labour party values in England, should created acute concern.  This creeping dysfunction of the representational electorate map should have been a warning that the electorate system was failing and on this bases alone no party could really say that it had a ‘democratic’ mandate to drive through a manifesto let alone enact things that were never mention in one.

Over the years there has been some terribly damaging decision that have belittled the standing of politics and in addition forced this country consistently to adopt short term policies with scant regard on the effects heaped onto the electorate for the longer term in corrosive socially economic effects.  In some respects this has been caused by politicians that have over time become insular allowing themselves to lose sight of the reason that they are put into elected positions whereby they can exercise control of the country on behalf of the electorate and democratic process, eventually though being subsumed into the primacy of party politicking. All too often a small number of politicians have brought the political and democratic process into disrepute with corruption, mendacious acts and self serving intentions. Politicians as a body are not respected, are mistrusted and held in near contempt by the general public. Although there are many diligent working members of parliament, far too often you will hear the derogatory phrases from the public that ‘they are all the same’ and ‘in it for what they can get out of it’. Being a politician seems to be process that separates themselves from ordinary people, they become institutionalised into the parliamentary systems with a privilege financial shield. It is a view that I find uncomfortable and poignant, it is a view that all politician’s should be ashamed of as it must demonstrate that the political system has gone wrong and that this is particularly highlighted in the rise of minor parties with often single objectives that attracts divisive support but if there is any doubt about this, just consider the political deficit that has been created in the UK with the legitimate expansion of support for the SNP that seeks to disentangle the union, a testament, if ever there was one, that the two party democratic process is failing to hold out enough hope or vision for the majority of the electorate in the UK.   

The labour party failed at the last election to attend to the prime concerns of the working class, yes there is still a pronounced class structure at play in the UK, it is wrapped in delusions of the haves and have not’s, with the disparity of aspirations between the conservative (ConDems) and labour voters. Labour did not do enough for the main working population during the blair years and latterly did little to recognise the shifting expectations of this electorate and hence lost the election. Labour lost, not because of my photogenic appearance, verbal presentations or jewish heritage; nor because of the credit crisis that has caused so much continuing damage but because it dramatically failed to counter the consistent spin being levelled at the party; that the party mismanage the economy as in the “mess left by labour”. Labour offered no defence on this prime strap line tag, generated no inspiring vision, got hung out on the workless and shirkers and failed to see or ignore the impact of social disintegration from policies on key areas.  

Economy = austerity war.

Reducing debt and deficit has to be a target for any government and the means to do so have to be fair and meet the objective expectations of the country. However there is a balance to be had between an affordable deficit and an unaffordable debt. It is a balancing act all countries do to maintain an acceptable trading currency. This balancing act has become more difficult over the decades, for a currency that is too strong undermines manufacture exports and sucks in imports, too weak and it may help exports but increases the cost of imports such as energy. Both these element have a direct impact on interest rates used as a rough tool to counter inflationary trends. Also remember that debt is built up over past decades whereas deficit occurs on a year by year basis with over spends piling onto the national debt. So far it cannot be said that achieving a low deficit and reducing debt as an element of GDP has seen a long term improvement, part of the reason for this is that the country’s expectations have been outstripping the country’s ability to fund them. The UK is no longer a global power yet politicians continue to enact policy that feed the delusions that it is. It does not have a demand asset base like oil, gas, gold etc. to sell. If it cannot become self-sufficient it has to trade to survive, and its economic base has been allowed to be sold or wither away from intellectual innovation and manufacture to transient capital expediency means.

This has resulted in a desperate lack of social economic vision, it has promoted the gap between the rich and poor, it has got wider over the past 6 decades and it has regrettably become more extensive since 1979. It is clear that due to the Credit Crisis and now the enforced austerity war, that far too much financial hurt has been laid onto the unemployed, disabled, low waged the working poor, lost youth opportunities and disintegrating infrastructures; all to ‘save’ the financial structures that created the CC problem in the first place; producing a growing social dis-cohesion of purpose, aspiration problems and ethnicity that is divisive; it is a leprosy of societal concerns. It need not be this way!

Immigration:

The various arguments that surround the issue of immigration are all well rehearsed and expounded in a plethora of reports  most of which extol the ‘benefits’ that have been derived from immigration to  the UK economy; yet such reports are constructed in a way to be self-serving to produce a positive economic view. It is obvious that the electorate do not see immigration as a positive move particularly as some see the loss of jobs, the restriction on pay, housing constraints, stretched education and health services together with the pressure being placed on local infrastructures impacting on their own children’s life chances. Proponents of Immigration have maintained that it has been useful, bolstered the economy, enriched the UK culture, and filled jobs that can’t be filled otherwise but ever since the 50’s all government parties have largely ignored the uncontrolled elements of it and latterly ignored any differentiation between refugees, selectivity, economic migrants and illegal opportunist. There is a clear inability to have accurate controlled numbers, there has been caused a obvious non integrated diversity concentrated in certain parts of the country, there is evidence of a weakening of the indigenous economic stability and crucially the lack of investment required in the prime infrastructures for health, educations, housing, employment, training and employment opportunity, is simple appalling. This cannot go on, how any social system can stand the influx of hundreds of thousands of migrants each year, even now in this time of economic collapse, cannot be sustained, it is akin to envisioning the creation of a number of new cities the size of Milton Keynes, Leicestershire, Norwich or Manchester. The Labour party has been ambivalent to the concerns raised by unfettered immigration, the under investment in the economy, the loss of jobs and insufficient support for infrastructure cannot maintain the waves of migrants likely to invade Europe and eventually many to seek entry to the UK. All parties have deliberately shunned any real discussion on this subject; the labour party has been particularly dilatory and it has been a factor in it being rejected by the electorate. It is now time for serious interventions. Any such long term migrant invasion must eventually lead to a reduction in the living standards of the indigenous population of the ‘host’ country, it could also give rise to greater inter cultural disharmony. It may be time to have a moratorium on all migration while a workable, practical solution is put in place. The adopted all party policy of multiculturalism has been one of delusion over practicality; it cannot happen were there are segregated enclaves, no absorption of the common predominate language, no willingness to assimilate into the expected norms of secular equality and a tendency to foster tribal religious exclusions.    

  

Tax:

At a time when the country is at the beginning of an “economic war”, with its precursor named as “austerity”, it is imperative that all available tax streams are examined for their efficiency of delivery. Again this is an area that plays to political vested interests that has not really served the need of the nation. One of the most abused forms of tax avoidance being undertaken by the corporate sector is the transference of profit out to a low tax regime by the use of loading cost on the consumer base of the country and thereby they only pay the nominal UK tax required by law. These companies, so far named as Amazon, Tesco, Starbucks, Boots, and many others plus shady financial trust funds and off shore tax heavens are designed to hide wealth at the expense of the profit provider nations. This is not a morally defensible position to have particular at a time when the normal unavoidable tax payer is being used to reimburse the economic corruption created by the financial institutions. These companies operating in the UK take the benefit of being in a modern open stable country that has high value invested infrastructure that has to be maintained.  Yet these vampirism companies take considerable more out of the financial strength of this country than they put in, I would like to see enacted a unilateral system that taxes profits raised within the UK economy and an obligation on auditing bodies to report any form of tax avoidance and evasion.

The labour party have been accused by some to be the party of the social benefits, if that is the case I am going to say that we should be proud of it, in the past 6 decades this party has been at the forefront of developing our social systems that have benefited the hard working class and those that have fallen – often through no fault of their own, into a needful situation and the safety net of the social welfare system has been there to assist. The labour party has been the driving force that gave the country the NHS, free higher education, easier access to university like the created Open University, health and sickness safeguards, holiday’s entitlement, the minimum wage, and legal safeguards for employment conditions etc. At no time can any other party claim that they are on the side of the ordinary people of this county and point to any great achievement that they have done that has benefited the social construct, on the contrary, they, the conservative, have and are even now continuing to dismantling everything that creates a good civil society in favour a their independently rich associate friends, the rapacious businesses, and all those who do not and have never felt the pain of austerity being inflicted on the ordinary people of this country who are carrying the financial burden for the privilege affluent. The Cons are even now carrying out their secret September 1982 thatcher and howe manifesto drawn up by their central policy review staff to eviscerate all or any socially funded structures.

Regretfully the labour party has fallen into the belief that there is no class structure, that wealth and opportunity ‘trickles down’ from the expansive rich to the undeserving workers and poor. It has lost the importance of explaining the need for a redistributive tax system that benefits the majority. It has become trapped in the game of a race to the bottom of who provided the lowest tax take. It needs to regain the ground of the safe-guarder of the nations provision and it may be time to accept that some form of audited additionality tax hypothecation is required to support directly those systems we value and hold dear.    

Defence:

For 70 years this country has moved in a period relative peace. Some would dispute that this peace has been with the Damocles sword of a nuclear deterrent, yet peace there has been albeit that we have been involved in many potential unwise conflicts. As we are no longer a global power, governments have, as a country reduced our military capacity; the so called ‘peace dividend’ but we have not used that ‘dividend’ to make our country any safer nor seen ourselves become more secure and prosperous. The peace we have enjoyed is potentially unravelling and it is obvious what the pressures are that is causing it. It has never been popular with the labour party to continue with a nuclear deterrent and as is the case with other countries, it has looked to reduce the risk associated with an arsenal and proliferation of such weapons. As much as people would wish to see the eradication of a nuclear defence and the cost implication it carries, the abandonment of it is not one to be taken in the belief that it is no longer needed. Such a decision should not belong to any political party as the long term consequences are unforeseeable therefore some method must be found to engage the voice of the people of this country; perhaps as a formal referendum one that also may incorporate the energy requirements for the future. For the moment we have to hold onto this sword, we have to be abundantly clear in our commitment to defence, the potential for war has not gone away and as analyst Stephen P Cohen has said, “either we have wars within civilisations” – wars between those in each civilisation who want to embrace modernity, integration and coexistence with other cultures, faiths and peoples and those that oppose all that – or we will end up with wars between civilisations”. The evidence thus far indicates, at this late stage, that competitive tensions are mounting with cultures that are inimical to western democracy, freedom and liberalism.

     

Constitution:

For far too long this country, the progressive home of democracy; has relied on a number of historic acts that have formed the basis of much of our laws and rights of freedom such as those stemming from the magna-carta. Yet we do not have a powerfully written constitution that incorporates the analible rights of the people of this country and it lacks anything that resembles one to compare with that of say America, Canada, Australia, France, Germany etc. As yet we continue to espouse the values contained in such ephemeral constitution as ours to others as the bed rock of a civilised democratic society but over recent years we have seen the failing of our system of governance in that the state has slowly taken away and eroded the implication of various acts that protect the public from an excessive plundering maligned and interfering executive control, lately under the guise of thwarting terrorism. I believe it is now time to redress this situation and would want to see a lawful created constitution for the UK that will build on the acts of history and which incorporates the best of the UK and European laws for UK citizens. This for the first time giving a constitution that meets the challenges of a modern society that finds itself with the ability to become more scrutinised and subjugated than at any time in history and is therefore open to state abuses.   

Compulsory vote:

We have seen recently the divisive nature of politics that has been created with the centralisation of power and influence, developed over a nation that relied on an ingrained two party system of politics which is largely responsible for the unequal economic spread of resources that favour the south of the country. Also the low regard that the public has for politics and Politicians is not something to be ignored. The continuing decline in voter turnout leads to a situation that creates a perverse perception that, in some areas a vote is seen as a wasted vote in the face of an overriding sitting party control. This view of the wasted local vote may inevitable turn people off from any effort to participate in elections. This is not healthy for democracy, whereby a third of the populace do not vote and no population majority mandate is given to any party or policies. This has to change and as a start we should want to see a move to a compulsory voting system were every single person of voting age has to make a decision even if that decision is a ‘no confidence’ vote, a vote of none of the above vote’!  People are currently asked to vote for a party presentation that offers a manifesto of which many do not read which depicts that parties proffered program. Such manifestos are often deliberately vague, shot through with policies of democratic opaque malfeasance, not to bear any relationship with what actually is finally enacted. It would be empowering and invigoration to the electorate system if the electorate will be asked to vote on the content of political parities manifestos bearing in mind that such manifestos will be legally binding. This means that any substantive change (outside emergencies) that is outside a manifesto will have to be put to a public referendum before it can be implemented. It has become for too easy for the Politicians to drive through policies that are driven by dogma without the recourse to public scrutiny, this has to change.

Voters are increasingly showing their contempt of Politicians and the corrupted democratic process. By having a compulsory systems that may throw up a no confidence vote will demand that all parties work together to regain trust. In addition it ought to be possible to hold senior Politicians to account for crass expenditure decisions that offers no substantive benefits other than to political dogma, something that falls against a form of ‘democratic ultra vires’ and bar them from any public office. The sort of thing that has cost the economy dear as in the miss guided privatisations, PFI’s and the recent debacle reorganisation of the NHS, all done without the implicit consensus of a majority.

Aspirations:

The democratic process, if it is to survive must be made fit for the purpose of the coming century. This does not suit the established holders of power, content to have a fractured system that allows them to manipulate the whole affairs of state for their own enriching ends. The labour party has to find its progressive visionary platform again and that does not mean a revision to any form of outdated leftism; we have to be the party that does the right things for the economy, the right things for sensible immigration, the right things for fair equitable taxation, to have the right strategy for the defence of our nation and most importantly offer the right imaginative solutions to make democracy meaningful and inclusive.     

We have to become the party of the right. To reframe the disobliging image formed in people’s minds of the party when associated with being of the ‘left’, a term so disingenuously used by the mendacious media to pillory our successes and nail us with our failures. The party may be socialist and proud of it but it must be the party that does intend to offer the right vision of an obtainable future.

© Renot 2015

89151900