One Government, Two Nations and many Media

It was Benjamin Disraeli who spoke of 'two nations' in 19th century Britain.

I acknowledge in one sense that over the years we had moved so far from that kind of poverty, and we had put in place public services, welfare, the health service, affordable housing and education for all - a rich inheritance for when the sharp edges of life come along.

But for me at least, there has been a sense that Tory ideology has done everything to recreate a similarly situation in 21st century Britain, which reminds me of my earlier blog entitled The Government Taking Us Back For The Future. Yes, after all these years it's still there, one Government, two nations:

One Nation being Rich and Pampered.

I read that the Tories are fighting hard to erase the public's perception that they are the Government of the Rich, but that seems to be one front in which they are hopefully in a losing battle, even with all their media deception that comes with them.

Thomas G. Clark points out that "the Conservative party have a near unblemished track record of serving the interests of the wealthy establishment elite, ahead of the interests of the ordinary people of the United Kingdom. It is possible to point to countless examples of the Tory party working to defend the interests of the wealthy establishment elite (landowners, nobility, rentiers, corporations, bankers...) ahead of the interests of the general public. Some of the most famous examples include the mass privatisation of taxpayer owned and funded infrastructure into the control of private interests (utilities companies, railways, state education, the NHS); serving corporate interests by attacking trade unionism and the interests of the millions of ordinary workers that they represent; and the abolition of security of tenure, giving landlords the power to evict tenants at short notice, no matter how long they have lived in the property and paid their rent properly".

One Nation being Attacked and Pursued.

We have taxation that benefits the rich, and impoverishes the ordinary people in society.

This Government are unfairly pursuing ordinary people are now bearing the brunt of austerity.

I read, and have experienced, how over the past five years, according to Joseph Roundtree Foundation:

• Childcare costs have risen over twice as fast as inflation at 37%.
• Rent in social housing has gone up by 26%.
• Food costs have increased by 24%.
• Energy costs are 39% more.
• Public transport is up by 30%.

The cost of living has increased, while the net worth of our wages have decreased, and as Naomi Klein says we are witnessing a redistribution of wealth taken from ordinary folk who are bearing the brunt of austerity, and being put into the hands of large corporations. 

This Government are also unfairly pursuing the less fortunate, who have somewhere in their personal histories, been left behind resulting in no real stake within our communities. 

David Walker, Bishop of Manchester, questioned the economic plans for welfare and the "scapegoating" of immigrants and people on benefits by those from a "background of stability and privilege." They may sound sensible from a background of stability and privilege but are on a different planet from the lived experience of families struggling to make ends meet day by day."
Writer John Wight says, "the cynical attempt to stigmatise, demonise, and dehumanise millions of people up and down the country, regardless of their personal or individual circumstances, surely ranks as one of the most vicious and brutal acts of any British government in living memory." 

The Deception of our Perceptions.

This was brought home to me today with a thump as I watched the BBC's Question of Politics. I watched Andrew Neil gently stroke MP Chris Grayling with easy going questions about massive reforms to the Criminal Justice System. Happen, Chris Grayling would not have had such an easy time if it was Russell Brand asking the questions! But as was pointed out to me later why would Andrew Neil, a thatcher supporter, make things difficult for his friend Chris Grayling? Indeed, we end up viewing a cosy chat between a Government official and a supporter on a media for rich!

I'm very much aware of media that is helpful. My partner recently had problems with the council regarding have the dropped kerbs improved for wheelchair access, and without a bit of media support she would still be waiting till at least 2016.

But I'm also aware of media that can be very toxic and confusing, and surely this is exampled by the Government's relentless attack on the unemployed of this country.

The Christian Church says it well in a recent report when it speaks of myths, reinforced by politicians and the media, are convenient because they allow the poor to be blamed for their poverty, and the rest of society to avoid taking any of the responsibility. Myths ... enable dangerous policies to be imposed on whole sections of society without their full consequences being properly examined. 

I've never had a real grasp of politics, and I'm no academic, but I am a person struggling to come to terms with the policies of this Government, and I have come to like thinking out loud. I'm looking at one Government,  two nations, and many media! But I can only conclude that this Government's policy attacks the out-of-work, the least paid and the underprivileged, all of whom make up a large majority of the population.