Vote Registration Time
It’s time to register to vote and we keep being told how it’s our duty to do this, but where is the party that represents the majority? Where is the party that is worthy of my vote?
I am sick of living in a country where the poorest half of society are exploited and forced to claim working tax credits, or visit food banks to survive, while CEOs earn, in some cases, 3000 times more than them. That excess salary is subsidised by surplus labour and tax-payers’ money. When we pay benefits to working people and allow corporations to pay wages they cannot survive on, we are subsidising the super-rich, whilst simultaneously labelling the poor as scroungers. This is obscene.
My main motivation to vote will be to seek out a party willing to crack down on this nonsense; to increase the minimum wage to at least a living wage; to pursue and prosecute tax avoiders; to increase taxes for the grotesquely rich (mostly thieves); to build affordable houses; to reduce dependency on exploitative energy companies by investing in renewables (how about solar panels on every roof?); to safeguard the NHS; to abolish free schools and tuition fees and ensure equality in educational standards; to ensure the neediest in society are given the support they need (a country that drives disabled people to suicide is not a country I want to be a part of).
And before anyone starts bleating on about how we will afford all of this, the answer is quite simple: it will pay for itself. The more equal a society is, the better its economy functions. When you have a huge rich-poor divide, money that would be spent by ordinary people supporting local businesses ends up in offshore tax havens. Unemployment increases as businesses suffer, and the victims of such behaviour receive the blame for our economic woes. The only people to benefit from a recession are the so-called 'elite'.
Given the above, the tories and UKIP are non-starters as far as my vote is concerned, so what about the left?
The labour party are too desperate to steal the conservative vote, too eager to appear tough on immigration and economically sound. They are ignoring logic in search of the popular vote and are at risk of developing into a centre-right party. They have no real leader, no voice, and they’ve lost their identity. They may be preferable to what we’ve got, but not by much.
The Lib Dems have been tainted by the coalition and they too have lost their identity. They will occasionally murmur something to distance themselves from the Tories, but appear incapable of coming up with a sensible strategy for turning the country around. Are we to vote for a party who have shown eagerness to abandon their principles in search of power, and who, prior to this, have not shown anything other than an ability to protest against the big two parties with empty words? They could argue they have been a moderate influence on the coalition, but that just begs the question of how destructive a Conservative majority would have been.
The Greens have as many insane ideas as fantastic ones. Listening to them talk about their progressive, socialist ideals is a breath of fresh air, but I can’t vote for a party who believe we should allow our citizens to join groups like ISIS! And as much as I am in favour of protecting the environment, the Greens consistently take this out of proportion; they seem directly opposed to any sort of progress and are lacking in credibility.
Who then am I supposed to vote for? Which party is going to protect the minority from the elite? Which party is going to create a fairer society, because I can’t see one? Right now, I am thinking Russell Brand has a point...
I am sick of living in a country where the poorest half of society are exploited and forced to claim working tax credits, or visit food banks to survive, while CEOs earn, in some cases, 3000 times more than them. That excess salary is subsidised by surplus labour and tax-payers’ money. When we pay benefits to working people and allow corporations to pay wages they cannot survive on, we are subsidising the super-rich, whilst simultaneously labelling the poor as scroungers. This is obscene.
My main motivation to vote will be to seek out a party willing to crack down on this nonsense; to increase the minimum wage to at least a living wage; to pursue and prosecute tax avoiders; to increase taxes for the grotesquely rich (mostly thieves); to build affordable houses; to reduce dependency on exploitative energy companies by investing in renewables (how about solar panels on every roof?); to safeguard the NHS; to abolish free schools and tuition fees and ensure equality in educational standards; to ensure the neediest in society are given the support they need (a country that drives disabled people to suicide is not a country I want to be a part of).
And before anyone starts bleating on about how we will afford all of this, the answer is quite simple: it will pay for itself. The more equal a society is, the better its economy functions. When you have a huge rich-poor divide, money that would be spent by ordinary people supporting local businesses ends up in offshore tax havens. Unemployment increases as businesses suffer, and the victims of such behaviour receive the blame for our economic woes. The only people to benefit from a recession are the so-called 'elite'.
Given the above, the tories and UKIP are non-starters as far as my vote is concerned, so what about the left?
The labour party are too desperate to steal the conservative vote, too eager to appear tough on immigration and economically sound. They are ignoring logic in search of the popular vote and are at risk of developing into a centre-right party. They have no real leader, no voice, and they’ve lost their identity. They may be preferable to what we’ve got, but not by much.
The Lib Dems have been tainted by the coalition and they too have lost their identity. They will occasionally murmur something to distance themselves from the Tories, but appear incapable of coming up with a sensible strategy for turning the country around. Are we to vote for a party who have shown eagerness to abandon their principles in search of power, and who, prior to this, have not shown anything other than an ability to protest against the big two parties with empty words? They could argue they have been a moderate influence on the coalition, but that just begs the question of how destructive a Conservative majority would have been.
The Greens have as many insane ideas as fantastic ones. Listening to them talk about their progressive, socialist ideals is a breath of fresh air, but I can’t vote for a party who believe we should allow our citizens to join groups like ISIS! And as much as I am in favour of protecting the environment, the Greens consistently take this out of proportion; they seem directly opposed to any sort of progress and are lacking in credibility.
Who then am I supposed to vote for? Which party is going to protect the minority from the elite? Which party is going to create a fairer society, because I can’t see one? Right now, I am thinking Russell Brand has a point...
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