Dick Skellington reflects on our disunited kingdom in his holiday postcard from Sardinia.
What disturbing times we face. We seem to be living in a climate of suspicion and division where the weakest and most vulnerable members of society are being demonised, reviled and marginalised by politicians and media alike.
I was born just after the Second World War which cost the lives of millions combating tyranny and racial hatred. A friend who was born a decade earlier expressed his concern about what he sees as disturbing parallels between the present and the thirties – the longest downturn in modern times, the persecution of minorities, mounting stigma against the unemployed, and antipathy towards those living on benefits and immigrants. All this in a gathering storm of Islamaphobia.
We do seem to becoming more mean-spirited and
selfish, and more antagonistic towards outsiders. Of course, as someone famously put it, we must beware of generalisations, even that one, but I am sure I am not the only one who has been struck by some of the dispiriting political rhetoric and media hysteria of late, especially after the brutal killing of a soldier in Woolwich.
I left for my holiday in Sardinia with UKIP's popularity running at nearly 30 per cent in some opinion polls. The streets of the country are witnessing far more frequent demonstrations from fringe Far Right organisations such as the English Defence League. It is as if UKIP's resurgence has pushed the country further to the right, making intolerance of difference a badge of honour for some. Its gathering support is a symptom of disempowerment among the white working class. UKIP supporters are more likely to earn below the national average wage, be white, male, and over 60.
As I left for my holiday the spectre of further corruption allegations against Ministers and Members of the House of Lords dominated the quality and tabloid newspapers, adding fuel to the fire of political disrepute.
Meanwhile, the festering boil of banker corruption remains to be lanced at a time when banks are still reluctant to lend, while little progress has been made on tackling the twin problems of tax evasion and tax avoidance. The focus has always been on the soft target of benefit scroungers.
The Government struggles to resolve some of the most critical problems of the day. The lack of adequately paid jobs, falling or at best stagnant wages for many, a shortfall in affordable housing, the absence of growth especially in regions beyond the Greater London area where major cities and urban conurbations face further local government cuts in spending in the next two years, youth unemployment at record levels, underemployment rising too, a stalled deficit and increased borrowing. The Labour opposition meanwhile seems incapable of promising anything too different from the current spate of austerity. Across mainstream politics membership is plunging. UKIP and others will reap the harvest of this disaffection.
All these failings are making it easier for more extreme fringe parties to secure greater political respectability. We are at greater risk of becoming hostages to an unrepresentative band of right wingers. I am in Italy where, of course, they know much more than we do about the perils of ignoring the threat of intolerance; and where austerity is struggling to tackle deficits with similar outcomes, if not worse, for young people and the vulnerable. And yes, I hear you shout, you could have holidayed in Portugal or Spain, more riddled with economic stagnation than the UK, then you might get some context. Just look at what is happening on the streets of Turkey's big cities this month. The UK is by comparison perhaps not so bad. But from here, where the sun shines, our problems seem the more acute to me. We seem to be harking back to an alleged golden age, back to the little Englander mentality of the 19th century.
Our country remains in extensive care. It is living through a lost and traumatic decade, especially for the young. It is nice to be away from it all, if only for a few weeks. Britannia does not look so cool from here. Wish you were here.
Dick Skellington
The views expressed in this post, as in all posts on Society Matters, are the views of the author, not The Open University.
Cartoon by Catherine Pain