Comments 10:01 13/05/2015

Britain's shift to the right must be countered by a united labor movement

By Richard Sudan, RT

As the dust begins to settle in the aftermath of the UK general election, the British people have many questions to ponder. The prospect of five more years of Tory rule under a conservative government holding albeit a small majority raises many concerns.

Billions of pounds of further cuts to the welfare state spells disaster for those already living on the breadline. And for minority communities who have faced unrelenting racism as a direct result of anti-immigrant rhetoric peddled from the top down, things stand to go from bad to worse. Who can forget the Home Office's totalitarian tactics last year, in siding with the undeniable shift to the right which Britain has undergone along with the rest of Europe, when they introduced the 'Go home' vans? And we might be talking about the UK election here; but let's not forget that the Conservatives lined up happily along with other European leaders when the decision was made to axe Mare Nostrum, the search and rescue operation which existed to rescue drowning migrants. Countless migrants, fleeing countries like Libya, itself destroyed by NATO's bombs, have died as a direct result. For all of their talk, Conservative policies towards immigrants at home, have certainly matched their policies abroad-a policy of disregard and contempt to say the least.

But at least the Tories have been consistent in their universal contempt, hatred, and scaremongering of 'foreigners' at home and abroad, Scotland included. Indeed, it was interesting watching ISIS lose the top spot of public enemy number 1 to SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon in a matter of days.

And no sooner was David Cameron announced as having won the election, than Theresa May immediately sought to reaffirm her commitment and desire, to pursue her ‘Snoopers Charter’, which will further entrench the grip of the surveillance state.

Ah the surveillance state, that thing we're told exists to protect our freedoms, which was recently shown to be abusing our freedoms, by spying on us, and storing all personal information on a central database.

Evidence has shown that such powers are already used to disproportionally criminalize and spy on certain communities, despite those communities being no more likely to commit crime than any other.

Muslim communities being targeted with surveillance programs like in Birmingham is one such example.

The revelation that Stephen Lawrence's family were spied on, while investigations into the racially motivated murder of their son Stephen were still on-going, will be fresh in people's minds. While the latter example may well have taken place many years ago, it nonetheless provides a telling insight into the extent to which these powers are already being abused.

And as a side-note, Michael Gove just became 'Justice' Minister. That's the same Michael Gove who like his Tory counterpart Boris Johnson, believed that the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry had turned into an unjustified liberal vendetta against the police and state-even though it’s clear that the state conspired against the Lawrences.

It's also the same Michael Gove who has said that there should be no public inquiry into the Westminster child abuse scandal, and that it’s essentially a private matter. The same Michael Gove who has advocated bringing back hanging as a way of reforming the criminal justice system. Michael Gove, Justice Minster. Let's just think about that for a moment. I'm no particular fan of Orwell, but doesn't it all read a bit 1984 right now?

Minority communities did not trust the government, or the police before the election, due to years of failed promises to reform the police and the criminal justice system. Far from this happening, we've seen the opposite take place. The abuse of power from those who on paper at least exist to serve all of Britain's communities has increased and not lessened.

Black men are still being gunned down and murdered on our streets and in police cells. The so-called justice system still fails to jail any police officers despite overwhelming evidence of criminality in many of the landmark cases.

Black people are still being stopped and searched despite being no more likely to commit crime than anyone else, and treated as criminals, a culture permeated by the media.

Muslims are still being treated as the enemy within, with schoolchildren being viewed as criminals and with young people being criminalized. Hate crimes against Muslims go largely unreported. And God forbid a brown person calling themselves Muslim commits a crime, because it’s then usually held up as vindication that all the hate directed at Muslims and illegal wars waged in Muslim lands have been justified.

Anyone who calls themselves Muslim, and who commits a crime is immediately presented by right wing media types who support the Conservatives as being representative of all Muslims, and as such a de facto spokesperson for the entire Muslim world.

And mainstream politicians of all stripes feed into this hype in the language and policies they evoke. Because, due to the last two governments, the current mob included, and thanks to Rupert Murdoch's crusade against all Muslims, the word 'terrorist' has become synonymous with the word 'Muslim'. So when leaders talk about the threat of terrorism, it’s now obvious what they mean. They are referring to Muslims. They seem to have an inability to describe anything as terrorism unless of course its crimes perceived to have been committed by Muslims.

In fact, it was the government's refusal to make this distinction, and to condemn the actions of Israel as acts of terrorism when Israel bombed Muslims in Gaza last year, which prompted one of the government's own ministers, Sayeeda Warsi a Muslim woman to step down.

In short hand, the government refused to condemn a rich white colonial settler state in the middle of the Middle East called Israel, which at the time was busy bombing poor Muslims with brown skin in the Gaza strip. Sayeeda Warsi could stand with her own government no longer. It was under Cameron's government and policies that she resigned.

The same Tory government cries crocodile tears for political capital about European or American journalists killed at the hands of ISIS in the deserts, and in Paris, but says nothing about the murder of dark skinned peoples at the hands of NATO and its proxies elsewhere.

With no Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems, the Conservative party in the UK now has a mandate, however weak, to push through all Tory policy at home and abroad.

Britain has lurched to the right and so has her politics. David Cameron has played every card in this election including nationalism. So which way is it going to go now?

What is Britain going to look like over the course of the next ten or twenty years? Will Britain further embrace the right, or will this election somehow serve as a wake-up call to the left?

UKIP are far from finished. They received a large share of the national vote, and are not going anywhere any time soon. But they are like and ugly scar or a boil, a symptom of Britain's shift to the right, not the cause of it.

Perhaps Labour might have resurgence at the next election in 5 years time. Perhaps, in 1997, Tony Blair won a landslide in large part due to many diverse communities voting for him, and supporting him however misguidedly.

Labour party key figures, including the now ex-leader Ed Miliband, and some of those now in contention for the leadership have all in the aftermath of the election talked about the Labour party 'rebuilding' and 'restoring faith' in 'ordinary' working people as they usually do, or arguing fashionably for a more 'modern' or 'responsible' version of capitalism. And we wonder why the Labour Party has lost their appeal.

But there isn't some secret formula Labour's forgotten about which they couldn't have just wheeled out at this election. They've simply stopped speaking the language of the people they say they represent. They are pro-austerity and pro-privatization, and pro-war however you slice it.

This could have changed before or during the election. But there are no Labour front-benchers willing to say the right things, presumably because they don't believe in them. Anyone who does does not become a frontbencher.

On that basis it’s strange to see people still talking in terms of the Labour party rebuilding and not in terms of the actual labor movement, and organizations which still support trade unions.

Poor communities, minorities, and the disenfranchised already had a raw deal before the election. Until the left begins to make sense of itself in a meaningful sense which can speak and relate to all working people, the right will continue to dominate the picture and the debate in politics. 



Source Panorama.am
Share |
Տեքստում սխալ կամ վրիպակ նկատելու դեպքում, ուղարկեք խմբագրին հաղորդագրություն` նշելով տվյալ սխալը, այնուհետև սեղմելով Ctrl-Enter:

Newsfeed

11:45
Fog hits Armenian town
The Rescue Service has warned drivers of a road closure in Armenia as of  Thursday morning. In particular, the road...
11:33
Hobart International: Elina Avanesyan through to semifinals
Armenian Elina Avanesyan, the No 6 seed, advanced to the last four of the Hobart International after American Amanda Anisimova, the No 3 seed,...
11:22
Armenian school destroyed in California wildfires
As the windstorm wreaking havoc across Los Angeles County continues to rage, its devastating impact has left thousands homeless, evacuated,...
17:07
Screen Actors Guild Awards cancel live nominations due to Los Angeles wildfires
The Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG) nominations have cancelled an in-person announcement planned for today due to devastating wildfires and...
16:53
Ex-ombudsman urges escape from Armenian government's 'propaganda trap'
Former Armenian Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan has warned of existential threats facing Armenia following Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s...
16:11
Iran's top security official to visit Armenia after Azerbaijan tour
The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) has arrived in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, for political and security...
15:33
Aliyev, an aggressor, demands human behavior from others
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev seems to be rapidly "thriving" in his rhetoric. His brazen comments, especially after the...
14:34
Human metapneumovirus causes relatively mild symptoms, WHO says
“Amid reports of rising wintertime respiratory infections in China – including human metapneumovirus – and the impact on...
14:07
Armenian deputy sports minister resigns
Armenia’s Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan on Wednesday confirmed the resignation of her deputy,...
13:30
Pashinyan responds to Aliyev
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan responded to the latest statements by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in an interview with...
13:16
Meta ends fact-checking on Facebook, Instagram
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Tuesday the social media giant was rolling back the use of third-party fact-checkers on its platforms, starting...
13:05
Armenian, Azeri border commissions to hold fresh talks soon
The Armenian and Azerbaijani border delimitation commissions, led by the deputy prime ministers of the two countries, will hold a new round of...
12:36
Aliyev's threats against Armenia should serve as a 'wake-up call', politician warns
Opposition politician Eduard Sharmazanov has warned that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s fresh threats against Armenia should serve...
12:05
Hobart International: Elina Avanesyan advances to quarterfinals
Armenian Elina Avanesyan, the No 6 seed, defeated Belgian qualifier Greet Minnen 6-2, 6-2 to move into the quarterfinals of the WTA...
11:30
Rescuers in Armenia free 4 stranded vehicles in one day
The crisis management centers of Kotayk and Aragatsotn Provinces received reports of vehicles trapped on several roads in Armenia over the past...
11:20
Lladro produces 'Karabagh Horse' porcelain figurines as propaganda for Azerbaijan
By Harut Sassounian www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com Regrettably, the only things that matter in this world are money and power. All the...
11:11
Trump says meeting with Putin possible after inauguration
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has said again that he is eager to see negotiations with Russia on ending the war in Ukraine begin soon after...
17:00
Winter military draft kicks off in Armenia
The winter conscription for compulsory military service commenced in Armenia on Tuesday. A solemn ceremony was held at the Sardarapat...
16:30
New Armenian envoy hands over credentials to Iranian president
Armenian Ambassador to Iran Grigor Hakobyan on Tuesday presented his credentials to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, the...
16:04
Specialist names acute respiratory infections prevalent in Armenia
Armenia is currently experiencing moderate activity related to acute respiratory infections, according to Romella Abovyan, head of the...
15:30
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck finalize divorce
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez are officially divorced, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE. The judgment comes nearly 20 weeks...
15:00
ICRC staff visits Artsakh leaders illegally held in Baku
Employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visited Artsakh's military and political leaders illegally detained in...
14:32
Armenia marks Remembrance Day of the Dead
On January 7, Armenia commemorates Merelots, the Remembrance Day of the Dead, which traditionally follows major religious holidays. The...
14:07
Temperatures to hit 17C in Armenia's Syunik
Dry weather is expected across Armenia’s regions throughout this week. Drivers are warned to watch out for black ice on some...
13:36
Armenian expert warns of rising tensions over 'Zangezur Corridor' in 2025
Turkologist Varuzhan Geghamyan has reacted to Azerbaijan’s false reports about the so-called “Zangezur Corridor” through...
13:06
Heavy snow leaves 10 cars stranded in Armenia
On January 6-7, the crisis management centers of Vayots Dzor, Aragatsotn, Kotayk and Lori Provinces received reports of vehicles trapped on...
12:30
At least 53 killed as powerful earthquake hits Tibet
A strong earthquake killed at least 53 people in Tibet on Tuesday and left many others trapped as dozens of aftershocks shook the high-altitude...
12:14
Pashinyan names pick for new Penitentiary Service head
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has named Tsovinar Tadevosyan as his pick for new head of the Penitentiary Service at the Armenian...
11:44
Armenian MP warns of 'turbulent developments reshaping the geopolitical landscape'
Armenian opposition MP Tigran Abrahamyan has warned of new “turbulent developments” that could significantly change the geopolitical...
11:15
Stepantsminda-Larsi road closed to trucks
The Rescue Service has warned drivers about a road closure in Armenia as of Tuesday morning. In particular, the road...

Follow us and get updates!

Most popular articles

{"core.blocks.header.spell_message1":"Selected mistake: ","core.blocks.header.spell_message2":"Send a message about the mistake?"}