Poverty, Inequality & Shortcomings: Six Years of Tory Rule

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It has been over 6 years since Labour were ousted from power in the UK, bringing their 13-year reign to a rather abrupt end. Despite the fact that Labour oversaw one of the most successful economies in the UK’s history, Blair’s decision to take the country to war in Iraq proved to be too much for some voters, allowing the Conservatives to profit from a swing of 3.7%. However, this swing did not prove to be decisive enough, with the Labour party coming in second, only 1.2 million votes ahead of the third placed, Liberal Democrats.

Since then we have heard a variety of bizarre statements from Tory and UKIP voters and politicians, ranging from: “Gordon Brown caused the Credit Crunch” to “Labour have ruined the economy forever”. It remains to be seen just how Labour inflicted a worldwide recession on the rest of the world, but why let facts and reason get in the way of a good old uneducated rant?

The truth is that over the last 6 years we have seen Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats more or less discounted as a political party and the prospect of an everlasting Conservative government ruling over us. It doesn’t even matter that the new Prime Minister hasn’t even been given a mandate to govern, still, those of us who are well versed in Conservative-hypocrisy will not be expecting a snap-election by Theresa May anytime soon.

Anyway, over the course of the previous six years we have seen untold misery and austerity inflicted on the country and cuts aimed at the most needy and vulnerable within our society, which has been reflected in the fact that community care solicitors have seen their number of enquiries increase ten-fold over the course of the last 3 years.

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The Government’s austerity policies have also drawn intense criticism from the United Nations, which has claimed that the policies are a clear breach of international human rights. This is a reflection of the economic policies that have left record numbers of people relying on a food bank to feed themselves and their children. Essentially the Conservatives are further increasing the already vast gap in wealth that exists between the rich and the poor in the UK. However, the report highlighted the fact that the following issues were of grave concern and required immediate attention:

·         The impact of austerity measures on the disadvantaged and marginalised

·         ‘Persistent serious shortcomings’ in the care and treatment of the elderly

·         The lack of sufficient resources for mental health services

·         The lack of available and affordable housing

·         The significant rise in homelessness and increasing reliance on food banks

However, it appears that there is little prospect of the Tories’ toxic austerity being overturned, with Teresa May emphasising that the UK must ‘live within its means’; this is about as clear as her pledge that ‘Brexit means Brexit’. It appears that the only issue the Conservatives are interested in is continuing to cut taxes and ensuring that those who are not lucky enough to be born into wealth continue to struggle.

This is particularly the case with Millennials, who are facing the very real prospect that their quality of life will not reach the same level of their parents. While they are in no way the first generation to face hardship, but they are the first that will be comparatively poorer than their parents.

The cuts have even been too much for some members of the Conservative party. The highlight of this was when Iain Duncan Smith resigned after claiming that the proposed cuts to disability benefits were “indefensible in the context of this week’s budget”. Sadly, I do not for one second believe that Mr Duncan Smith suddenly unearthed a heart and became empathetic towards the most vulnerable in our society. It remains to be seen what his next move will be, it has certainly been a surprise not to see him pop-up amongst May’s frontbenchers, attempting to push through further austerity cuts. After all, this is the same man who decided to enter politics due to Margaret Thatcher and who is determined that Britain not only leaves the EU, but also the single market as well, which will inevitably have a negatively profound effect on the average man and woman in Britain.

It remains to be seen what the coming years will have in store for those of us in the UK. We are not only facing the possibility of years upon years of Tory government but also the uncertainty that remains over the vote to leave the European Union. It certainly appears that things have calmed down somewhat, but those divisions are still alive and well under the surface and will mostly likely return to the surface with a vengeance.