Hey everyone. It is at this time of year when I see the divisions in society between those who have and than those who have not more clearly than at any other. Though we are told that Christmas is the season to be jolly, It has to be said that for some people there will be precious little goodwill during this festive season.
As I paint this portrait of a nation it should be remembered that I am not talking about the Victorian Britain of Charles Dickens, I am talking about the Britain in which just a few months ago the people of Scotland we were told we would be better together. Yet as we start the run up to the Westminster General Election this is a Britain more divided between rich and poor than at any time I can ever remember
Imagine if you will two families. One family who are wealthy beyond your wildest dreams the other will be struggling to stay alive. At three o’clock one family will sit down to watching the Queen’s speech who will be tucking in to their three four or even five course Christmas dinners. As they wish each other a merry Christmas they can afford to smile Santa has been good to them everyone got everything they wanted and the bonus of one or two lovely surprises. When the Prime Minister talks of economic recovery it is this kind of family he is talking about and they may reward him next year for having such a lovely Christmas.
Contrast this with the other family. They live in a poor area and some circumstances their cupboard may in a worse state than old mother Hubbard’s. To them Christmas will be just another day, though they’ll put a brave face on it for the children’s sake. To them the Merry Christmas greeting will seem just a bit hollow. To them Christmas will mean paying bills till next November to pay for the Turkey and toys as this Conservative led government of the billionaires plays with their futures.
As a socialist and more especially as a christian I have to say I find offensive that we are allowed to live in a society which encourages unrestricted greed for those at the top tables in this United Kingdom yet preaches continued austerity for the rest of us. Yes I know they’ll attempt to say but its always been that way, and there’s nothing we can do to change things but this to me smacks of a clear case of abdicating your responsibility and withdrawing from the battle for social and economic justice.
This is and it gives me no great pleasure to say it, particularly true of the Labour Party. The party our second family would traditionally support. This is however all over Britain but particularly true in Scotland which used to be home to some of their staunchest supporters and despite their Scottish branch office having a cosmetic change of what they call their leader, I can’t help but think Jim Murphy is no friend of the poor. He does after all represent one of the most affluent constituencies in Scotland and can’t help but sound like a modern day Uriah Heap. This man is smug beyond belief and sanctimonious beyond all measure. I notice his spin doctors are trying to big him up as some sort of hero figure, I have news for them it isn’t going to work. In their desperation to win back traditional Labour supporters who voted yes in September and are at least considering voting SNP Labour’s friends are trying convince themselves and the voters that he is charismatic. Trust me he isn’t, and it is my opinion and that he possess all the personality of a limp lettuce leaf. This fact when combined with levels of expenses manipulation which defy both description and belief taint our would be messiah as someone who cannot be trusted.
I read recently that he claimed that the SNP with whom and his fellow unionists seem to have a rather unhealthy obsession with, will know that we are apparently dealing with someone who isn’t crap. This breathtaking display of arrogance borders on criminal stupidity and shows an almost contemptuous lack of respect for his immediate predecessor Johann Lamont and previous leaders such as Iain Gray and Wendy Alexander. Someone should have told him this is not how you win friends and influence people. It strikes me that this is a man with a serious credibility problem who could actually do his party more harm than good.
Murphy aside however Labour’s main problem is the fact that they have committed themselves to the continuation of the austerity programme for the duration of the next parliament. Thus rather than being the party of social and cultural unity for the British working class they have become like their Conservative friends a party which is far too fond of the strivers and shirkers mantra in which the poor get blamed for the problems faced by the chattering classes. It seems the people’s party no longer belongs to the people and has far more in common with the establishment it was formed to fight than the vulnerable it should be protecting.
This Christmas many people will not have enough food to enjoy a decent Christmas, many will face the choice between heating and eating and for a number of children a present from Santa will be something that other kids get.
As I said at the beginning of the post this is not the Christmas of a Christmas Carol when a cold hearted miser saw the error of his ways, this is Christmas 2014. This is a Christmas in which according to all good unionist fairy tales we in this happy land are supposed to be more united than ever. The tragedy is that this is a million miles from the truth and that this united kingdom is more divided than ever and no amount wrapping paper can disguise it. We live in two very different Britain’s and as the party who are supposed to unite us try to look for a more hopeful future it disheartenes me to say that this portrait of a nation shows a kingdom dis united as the so-called people’s party blame the poor for Santa’s problems.
Love And Best Wishes
Gayle X
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