It’s a tough ask, trying to dodge being put into a category, avoiding a label. Everything has a label nowadays we are all classified in every possible way. There was a time when age and gender were enough, unless you were a boy at school and then your ‘team’ counted. In my youth you always supported your local team, so it was never really an issue, but in this age of adopt-a-team even if they are in a different country, things aren’t so simple.
In school we had a few kids who were a bit ‘slow’ and those that ‘messed’ around, that was as far as the label went. They were fine, they were our friends and generally got hauled along in terms of performance and behaviour. Now they will be labelled and assigned to one ‘spectrum’ or another, which turns out to be a life sentence because these labels stick.
And that is a concern because I really don’t know if I am left or right. Admittedly, most of us start off as teenagers with slightly socialist views, but by the time we reach our senior years our views have hardened and become more self-interested which pushes us towards the right. I find myself in a quandary. For example, I would like to see university education provided for free, as it used to be. And not just university, I believe it would be beneficial if the same funds were allocated to apprenticeships. Students will still pay for their accommodation. I am not advocating an increase in university numbers. My left wing leaning swings rapidly to the right and I wouldn’t object to university places being reduced.
To pay for this and proper funding for schools, hospitals, care homes, etc., I would not object to an increase in income tax. We whinge and moan about how all the services are suffering, but we brought it on ourselves. When successive governments promised us the earth we believed them. Of course we have paid for it. We no longer own our water services, our waste services, many of our electricity suppliers, some train lines…. Nor must we forget that our basic rate of income tax is now 20% where is was 30% or over until 1986. I am not an economist, but if my income was reduced by a third would I expect my standard of living to be the same? Of course not. So how do we expect as government to supply the same services when we have effectively reduced income tax by 33%. And don’t believe the VAT argument. It may be 17.5%, but the Purchase Tax it replaced was 25%.
Enough of my pandering to the masses on the left. My right wing side can be pretty devilish too. No one has suggested it yet, but I believe we could save a fortune on the prison service with a bit of dye. You get convicted of rape, you don’t go to prison, your face is dyed some hideous yellow. Now go out in society and be stigmatised daily for what you have done rather than sit in a prison watching tv and getting a subsidised degree. Pick the colours you feel most appropriate and ensure that the felons are confronted by the public for their crimes. Would it make people think twice about committing a crime? I suspect so. It would add a new meaning to the saying ‘unable to show his face’.
It is a question of balance. We have a long and noble history of accepting people seeking asylum from oppressive, evil regimes. The protestant Huguenots arrived from France in the 16th century, We willingly accepted tens of thousands of Jews from Europe in the 1930s and 40s. Children were admitted from Spain as the fascists bombed the Basque country during the civil war. In 1956 we took in Hungarians fleeing from Soviet rule. In 1972 Idi Amin gave Asians 90 days to leave Uganda. We took in Vietnamese boat people and Kosovar refugees. They have all been absorbed into our society and made their contributions to that society, culturally and financially. It was never in our nature to turn our backs on people in need, whether they were neighbours from two doors away or those at risk a continent away. Illegal immigrants are a separate question. There are legitimate routes into the country and these should be maintained.
To cosy up to us, and keep themselves in power, the political parties seem to have little interest in doing what is best for the country. They want the easy middle ground where you don’t have to have strong principles or beliefs, you just need to con the voters into believing you are giving them what they want. It doesn’t matter if you are left or right, your views are going to be ignored.