It must be evident, to anyone tuned into Westminster politics, that the representatives, elected by the Scottish people, are out of place in that house. It is a house of representation for English politicians. Numbers and attitude confirm that this is no union of equal nations. So be it. @SNP, come on home. Build bridges here.
Having just finished watching a programme on the effects of austerity on some of the most vulnerable people in my country I have come to a new understanding of why people resort to extreme measures to counter injustice.
While corporate tax evaders, banks and corrupt politicians elude justice, the penalties and sanctions imposed for minor infractions of the benefits system – being late for an appointment! – hit to the stomachs of children, leave households without electricity or gas and force the sale of personal possessions to survive. Decisions on appeal drag on for months while poverty is compounded with mounting debt at the hands of franchises lending at exorbitant interest rates.
The divide is growing. It does not surprise me in the least that the people of Scotland are supporting in droves a political party that promises to do everything in its power to counter austerity measures imposed by policies this government and previous ones have forced on its citizens while doing nothing to address the real criminals in the crisis that has plagued the UK. A party that represents the only real social party left to offer any effective resistance to the suits that look out for each other.
The haves do what they like while the have-nots have ever less under a regime that would make any dictator proud.
Fuck austerity. I teach children whose lives ARE this programme.
Some will go to Jamaica and Tenerife for their Easter holidays. Some will wonder if they eat. The divide is in my classroom. The evidence of the divide is on my TV, in my newspapers, on blogs I read, in the untruths perpetuated in news and programmes that make criminals of victims while allowing the real criminals to continue on their course of profit at any cost.
I am not a member of any political party at the moment. I am a member of the human race and the day I can’t empathise with my fellow man – most specifically, the children – is the day I will vote for Tories or the now recognised Red Tories, hitherto known as the Labour Party.
If there is anyone who reads this who may ‘fear the onslaught of the SNP’, ‘the tartan terrors’ or whatever other name is being used to denigrate that party, if anyone believes that all who vote for them are only interested in ‘splitting the union’ think again.
The real reason SNP are gaining in popularity is because they are the main party in Scotland to represent what Labour have abandoned.
They actually give a shit which is more than can be said for many in the previous duopoly. They have my vote. Not for being extreme- they’re not extreme enough for me. But right at this moment they are the best option the whole of the UK has to redress the balance by at least offering some resistance to what is currently a crime being allowed to run rampage.
Austerity is a crime against children and families. And I will not stand for it.
Extreme doesn’t begin to describe what I feel after watching this programme.
Yes, I understand better why people take drastic actions to counter injustice.
Mine will be within the letter of the law. But some laws need changing. Soon. Very, very soon.
It’s no secret that I voted Yes in the referendum for Scottish Independence in September of last year. Around 45% of the populace did. 55% did not. Whatever their reasons for voting No, democracy was seen to be served. More or less.
Immediately after the referendum, and since then, membership of the Scottish National Party has swelled. The popularity of the once favoured Labour Party here in Scotland has plummeted.
Where once Labour represented people who cared for a fairer and more just society, it has become almost indistinguishable from the Conservative Party, political pioneers of the ‘I’m alright Jack’ club.
Labour lost all credibility to many voters when they made a pact with the Tories and Lib Dems to help keep the union together no matter the consequences to the people and ideology they purported to represent.
This, together with their ongoing self-sabotage, while attempting to pursue self-preservation, has made them a joke in many parts of Scotland. And elsewhere.
Losing so many seats to the SNP would be an affront to them and impact on whatever position they may hope to hold in central government. Either in power or as the main opposition party.
The major parties are in a shambles, trying to cobble together ‘what if’ scenarios, making for some strange bedfellow combinations. At least, in name. Not perhaps so strange when their political compass is identified.
Perhaps the, yet again, negative scaremongering that abounds comes more from the fact that SNP are left of centre in their politics rather than the fact that they still threaten the union.
But let’s feed the masses what fuels the fire.
Perhaps no one will notice.
We might even get to keep the status quo.
Perhaps.
And we all know where that leads us.
Right, right, right again, straight ahead and saluting authority and austerity at every right turn.
It’s all in the name, you see. The name of the game.
If you’re interested in knowing your own political compass the test can be taken here.
I’m not fighting for Scotland as an entity over all others. I’m fighting for justice and freedom from right wing authoritarianism. I don’t care what you call the parties. The only parties I’m interested in are all the wee lassies and lads. From wherever they hail. Party enough for me. And, by the gods, I’ll party when we have a government that’s for the people, serves the people and has aspirations beyond self-serving agendas.
Find your political compass.
Vote with that. At least let it be from your heart.
Mums, dads, anyone who gives a shit, find your compass. And, for fuck’s sake, vote with that. At least let it be because you know and not because you believe what you are told.
scottishmomus 