I believe the entire political system by which we are governed would benefit from a fresh approach. As a society, we need to re-examine and re-think every area of society and determine what I have called the ‘Role of Government’. Please let me explain.
On the radio programme Desert Island Discs, when asked how and why he “writes women so extraordinarily well”, the respected novelist Sebastian Faulks replied: “we are now allowed to admit I think - those wars having been fought and won - that there are small but significant differences between most men and most women…..".
By the same token, I believe we now allowed to admit that the ideological differences between the two major parties have been fought and won.
For those who are too young to remember (and, if you are one of these, more than anyone, you really must vote – it is your future at stake here!), the old ideological wars between Labour and Conservative were much more clearly defined: in essence, Labour was a socialist party and the Conservative were a ‘free market’ party.
In the 1994, at a seminal party conference, Tony Blair tore up the historic Clause 4 of the Labour Constitution ('To secure for the workers… the basis of the common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange, and the best obtainable system of popular administration and control of each industry or service').
In 1995, new Labour was fully ratified and Blair was given the ammunition for his spectacular General Election victory in 1997.
To achieve this, the career politicians who were now running the Labour party conveniently discarded the principles that had lured them into politics in the first place and accepted many of the reforms under ‘Thatcherism’ that they inherited in 1997.
For example, as a student in 1975, Gordon Brown said: "Political power will become a synthesis of - not a substitute for - community and industrial life. This requires from the Labour Movement in Scotland today a positive commitment to creating a socialist society…”.
Well, he does not lead a socialist society now and he knows it.
However, that is not to say that the fruits of ‘free market’ Thatcherism have been golden apples. In fact, in some areas, we have seen that Britain today is rotten to the core. I am thinking particularly of the greed and self-interest that caused the banking crisis - and the financial controls over our market economy in general. And, of course, MPs expenses where the MPs we elected were above the laws of ‘common people’ like us.
I am also thinking of the other end of the spectrum, where the poor are poorer, the weak are weaker and the old are older, colder and hungrier.
The Conservatives have identified that we live in a ‘broken society’ – but they have failed to tell us how they are going to fix it. Their core message is that this will be the ‘Year of Change’. The lack of intelligence and sheer banality behind this claim shows, if they do win the next General Election, how the Conservatives need to be provoked and challenged by people like me.
Also under this section called ‘Role of Government’, there are two further social dynamics that I will attempt to incorporate and inter-weave into each social area:
1. Our society is more divided than ever before. We need to learn to live together - to converge, not diverge - and I will reveal some ways I think this can be achieved.
2. When examining social issues with the intention of defining the Role of Government in each case, one is often led two key factors that modern governments must provide – freedom and protection. Again, I will try and inter-weave these two dynamics into the narrative below.
Finally, in any manifesto, there are numerable issues that need to be addressed. For the sake of the people of Battersea, I will be as honest and frank as I can – as I always will be.
But, as a ‘one-person-party’, I cannot pretend to be an expert in all of them. Where I have a point of view, I will express it but, in every political area, I am independent, open-minded and am interested in representing the views and expertise of my neighbours in Battersea.
There are four areas in which I believe I can claim some expertise and these are: education, health, market economy and the media.
In each of these three areas, I will provide a Professional and a Personal perspective.
As this has been my career, I will also provide a fresh Insight which will, I hope, help us redefine the issue that we face in today’s society and, through innovative thinking, help us move forward to a more prosperous and united future.
