What’s left? And, for that matter, what’s right? As you, dear reader, may have noticed I am by nature a political animal. I am a lifelong Labour supporter and for much of that lifetime, at least the adult part, I have been a Labour member. I’d probably call myself a socialist of sorts, some might say a social democrat or, at a stretch, a democratic socialist. Categorising myself still further, I was a Blairite long before Tony Blair had even been heard of, apart from by his close family. Having read that last bit, I can imagine some suggesting I should actually be a Tory. I’m not, of course, but does it really matter? Do labels matter?
I suppose labels do matter. But it’s issues and principles that matter more to me. My politics can be defined by the beliefs I hold. If I was asked to define what socialism was to me, I’d say the National Health Service, where theoretically at least everyone is equal and entitled to treatment free at the point of delivery. I’d add equality of opportunity, regardless of background, to the mix, as well as dignity in old age, the elimination of homelessness and rough sleeping, helping those who can work into work, the end of food poverty and, where practicable and affordable, the public ownership of resources like water. These are, according to some, left wing points of view. For the life of me, I cannot understand why.
I have no wish to prevent people getting on in life, particularly those who work hard and play by the rules. I do not want the state to control the means of production and the distribution of goods, or indeed to run everything. I believe in what used to be called a ‘mixed economy’ but the things the state doesn’t own or control should be regulated to ensure people don’t get ripped off. These beliefs are enough to have me branded as a Tory by some. Whatever. Sticks and stones and all that. Only someone on the hard left would call me a Tory, just as someone on the right would call me a ‘lefty’. It baffles me why having a social conscience, as I believe I have, could be regarded as some kind of threat to the status quo. Aren’t we supposed to care about our fellow woman and man?
So, when I oppose the hard right, it’s more that I oppose what they stand for. Stephen Yaxley-Lennon who calls himself Tommy Robinson, Restore UK, Reform Party UK Ltd and the Conservative and Unionist Party, especially under current management, all represent views I find abhorrent. Indeed Yaxley-Lennon and Restore are essentially fascists, with Nigel Farage’s company, which masquerades as a political party, Reform Party UK Ltd not far behind. Their small state, low tax vision of Britain rejects state involvement in pretty well anything, so that must include the NHS, the welfare state and the majority of public services, as well as the rejection of all forms of equality. Does it make me a lefty to reject that view of modern Britain? If it does, then so be it.
My feeling is that most people are somewhere between what might be defined as the centre left and the centre right, which is to say they believe in much the same things, with one or two exceptions. I know of few people who would support, say, cancer treatment only being available to the well-off who can afford to pay for it. I doubt that all that many people approve of privately run water companies charging us the Earth and then tipping millions of gallons in of shit into our rivers and seas. I don’t know all that many people who support the idea of people who have to go into care when they get old and infirm having to sell their homes in order to pay for their care, thus depriving their families of an inheritance. I am sure that if people came to our food bank, they would find the sight of people unable to afford basic items such as food having to ask for emergency food parcels to see them through a crisis which is usually not of their making appalling. The list of examples can go on forever.
Historically, the solutions have revolved around politics, the so-called socialist Labour government coming in to sort out the mess of chaos and confusion of Conservative misrule, as happened particularly under the pernicious rule of Margaret Thatcher and more recently David Cameron/Nick Clegg, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, with public services pared to the bone and inequality greater than it was before. The Tories underfunded pretty well everything from health to defence, from roads to the care sector. For the life of me, I cannot understand how writing the wrongs of piss poor Conservative governments is somehow a socialist ideal. To me, it’s just doing The Right Thing.
To repeat, my politics is regarded, not least by myself, as left of centre socialism because the things I believe in, like a strong, well-funded NHS , is a principle founded under a socialist principle. But if push came to shove, I’d say that the NHS is more important than party politics: it comes under human decency, dignity and caring for our fellow woman and man. The simple fact is this: the party that founded the NHS was Labour, the only party that fully believes in it today is Labour. That is a simple fact.
Maybe politics isn’t left and right, after all? Maybe it’s right or wrong? I think the NHS is right, an NHS-free society is wrong. Everyone having the opportunity of meeting their potential, that’s right too, isn’t it? People who work hard and play by the rules, that’s right, isn’t it, and it should be applauded and encouraged.
What it really comes down to is this: are we all in it together or not? Is there such a thing as society, or not? Thatcher and her disciples who live on in the Tory party, as well as Reform Party UK Ltd, don’t think there is. I do believe there is and it forms my politics far more than what’s left and what’s right.
And there’s something else: public service. Should that be a matter of left and right? Is it only the so-called left that believes in the police, ambulance, fire and armed services and that the right somehow doesn’t? Or does any other form of public service not matter and is expendable? Well, we know that the last government ran all public services into the ground so maybe the Tories really don’t care about public services, but I’ll bet centre right voters, even Daily Mail readers, do care.
After all that, I do think that labels do matter, certainly on the extremes. And it’s worth pointing out that the far right of Yaxley-Lennon, as well as far right establishment figures like Rupert Lowe and the Fagash Fuhrer Farage, hold extreme views, as do the comrades on the far left, light years to the centre left Labour Party. But for most of the time, it’s not about left and right, it’s about right and wrong. And that is where I came in.
