I agree with every word written. I had all the benefits of growing up in the post war welfare system. In my naivety I thought that things would only get better and better. I am heart broken by what this country has become since Thatcher came to power. It is unbelievable that we, the majority, have somehow let this happen. It has been ‘divide and rule’ again and again.
Lorna, I feel and share your pain. We’ve let right wing media skew and slant the views regarding socialism into something many confuse with communism, without any clue about the differences.
Agree with all your reasons for leaning left. The Right are about hierarchies and short-term greed. The left believe in inclusivity and running things for the benefit of all.
Agree with every word and I’m definitely on the left in a mainly right wing London Borough who suddenly voted Labour in the last election only to discover they were actually still voting Tory. I now get told by almost everyone that this so called Labour lot should be given a chance. I don’t know quite what they’re waiting for and no-one seems capable of telling me and our MP doesn’t answer questions and hasn’t said anything I agree with yet, but I am supposed to give him a chance to suddenly change I suppose.
I agree with everything you said, unfortunately whilst polls always show the same results, more or less, as soon as the caveat “…and would you be prepared for taxes to rise in order to pay for public/social ownership?” is added, the selfish streak nurtured by decades of Thatcherite governments and media kicks in and those pro-public ownership percentages drop. It’s neither here nor there that taxes do not pay for public services, governments spend through debt and if the country has its own sovereign currency (Bank of England etc) then we only owe the “debt” to ourselves anyway. The entire narrative around debt-deficits and “fiscal black holes” is false and serves the neoliberal agenda of cuts & austerity. Sadly all the main parties in the U.K. are fully paid up members of the neoliberal elite and on top of that the citizens of Britain are mostly economically illiterate and kept that way by politicians. So it’s almost impossible to explain what i just laid out to them and so the merry-go-round continues.
Excellent stuff. You always manage to put down in words exactly what’s going on in my head. Good to know there are other people out there thinking the same way .
You have omitted from your analysis the impact monetary and fiscal theories have on notionally left wing or centre-left governments. In public even left wing parties subscribe to the comparison between holdhold and state budgetting and expenditure, even though they know this comparison is bollocks. This drives them to concepts like PFI contracts, and an unwillingness to embark on widespread renationalisation of infrastructure companies.
Lefties need to stop supporting Ukraine. Russian irredentism is annoying but... That logic fails on the simple fact that we don’t have the firepower to stop the Russians. And there is nothing we can do about it. If the French felt Kent was full of French people we couldn’t stop them either. There is a reason Calais is no longer part of England. This idea that there is some greater power that decides what countries are and aren’t is just for the birds. It’s never happened for any other time in history. Russia will take the part of Ukraine they feel is full of Russians. And that will be that. The sooner we accept that the sooner we can stop ordinary people dying needlessly. Nobody else is prepared to die for a belief.
They’re not prepared to die for your ideals. Europe’s military forces are a joke, and incapable of defending anything. As we have seen so far. Eventually reality has to prevail!
I am also very proud to be a lefty!!!!
Brilliant analysis Tom, I too am proud to be a lefty.
As a socialist how do you see the state it's laws, troops and police? As a neutral actor or player in what is effectively a class war?
I agree with every word written. I had all the benefits of growing up in the post war welfare system. In my naivety I thought that things would only get better and better. I am heart broken by what this country has become since Thatcher came to power. It is unbelievable that we, the majority, have somehow let this happen. It has been ‘divide and rule’ again and again.
Lorna, I feel and share your pain. We’ve let right wing media skew and slant the views regarding socialism into something many confuse with communism, without any clue about the differences.
Well put Tom!
Agree with all your reasons for leaning left. The Right are about hierarchies and short-term greed. The left believe in inclusivity and running things for the benefit of all.
Proud to be a Lefty, too ❤️
Agree with every word and I’m definitely on the left in a mainly right wing London Borough who suddenly voted Labour in the last election only to discover they were actually still voting Tory. I now get told by almost everyone that this so called Labour lot should be given a chance. I don’t know quite what they’re waiting for and no-one seems capable of telling me and our MP doesn’t answer questions and hasn’t said anything I agree with yet, but I am supposed to give him a chance to suddenly change I suppose.
Only Anarchists are lefties, the rest are right-wing deviationists looking for someone to sell out to.
I agree with everything you said, unfortunately whilst polls always show the same results, more or less, as soon as the caveat “…and would you be prepared for taxes to rise in order to pay for public/social ownership?” is added, the selfish streak nurtured by decades of Thatcherite governments and media kicks in and those pro-public ownership percentages drop. It’s neither here nor there that taxes do not pay for public services, governments spend through debt and if the country has its own sovereign currency (Bank of England etc) then we only owe the “debt” to ourselves anyway. The entire narrative around debt-deficits and “fiscal black holes” is false and serves the neoliberal agenda of cuts & austerity. Sadly all the main parties in the U.K. are fully paid up members of the neoliberal elite and on top of that the citizens of Britain are mostly economically illiterate and kept that way by politicians. So it’s almost impossible to explain what i just laid out to them and so the merry-go-round continues.
Excellent stuff. You always manage to put down in words exactly what’s going on in my head. Good to know there are other people out there thinking the same way .
Me too!!!!!!!
Well said. Of course you're proud to be a lefty. So am I.
You have omitted from your analysis the impact monetary and fiscal theories have on notionally left wing or centre-left governments. In public even left wing parties subscribe to the comparison between holdhold and state budgetting and expenditure, even though they know this comparison is bollocks. This drives them to concepts like PFI contracts, and an unwillingness to embark on widespread renationalisation of infrastructure companies.
Lefties need to stop supporting Ukraine. Russian irredentism is annoying but... That logic fails on the simple fact that we don’t have the firepower to stop the Russians. And there is nothing we can do about it. If the French felt Kent was full of French people we couldn’t stop them either. There is a reason Calais is no longer part of England. This idea that there is some greater power that decides what countries are and aren’t is just for the birds. It’s never happened for any other time in history. Russia will take the part of Ukraine they feel is full of Russians. And that will be that. The sooner we accept that the sooner we can stop ordinary people dying needlessly. Nobody else is prepared to die for a belief.
They’re not prepared to die for your ideals. Europe’s military forces are a joke, and incapable of defending anything. As we have seen so far. Eventually reality has to prevail!
Brilliant!