Press Column
Press Column

Crumbling. That’s how it feels. Families, having budgeted and managed, simply can’t any longer. Long NHS waits seemingly getting no better. Housing delivery for investors not people. And now a travel crisis and economic crisis. Everywhere you turn, people have been abandoned.

Crumbling. The Tory Government has descended into complete chaos, too focused on itself to care. A Prime Minister drowning in a lifetime of lies, dishonesty, and moral and political bankruptcy, which, at last, has caught up with him. We need change like never before.

He is now mortally wounded, with 148 of his own troops turning on him. They recognised that if he was not taken down, they all would fall at the next election, when you finally have your say. The first referendum will be the Wakefield by-election on 23 June and the more rural seat of Tiverton and Honiton the same day. Both seats held by the Tories; both likely to change party.

But these by-elections have also confirmed that Tory disgrace doesn’t stop at the door of No.10, but has permeated through the whole party. Remember both seats are going to the polls as a result of disgraced Tory MPs.

But more significant than the vote of ‘no-confidence’ on Monday night in Parliament, was the Prime Minister’s response. In his words, now was the time to ‘move on’. Well, how can the country move on when they cannot get on; on an NHS waiting list, on the housing ladder, or on with paying the bills or affording something to eat. In 12 years, the country has been brought to its knees.

The Prime Minister may want to forget the lying and the cheating, but we must not.

Worse again, he who broke the rules is now rewriting the rules. The Ministerial Code is clear that if you break the Code, you have to resign. He broke the Code, so is changing it. Contrition and remorse or ducking responsibility? Nothing has changed.

Now the Tories will be self-absorbed in introspection and trying to convince themselves and us that they have changed. There will be frenetic activity as the Prime Minister spins out populist one liners, sets alight culture wars and bounces around the country and world to prove his invincibility.

We have seen it all before, but with the systems crashing down beside us, all can understand what happens when your thirst for power exceeds your hunger to serve.

This next election will be a defining moment as you place your cross on the ballot paper. Make sure you are registered to vote. They are making it harder to vote and are changing the constituency boundaries too – stealing your rights to maintain their rule.

So, let’s do everything possible to end this era of deceit and arrogance and to usher in one of transparency and transformation. This is now in your hands.

Labour are committed to return to the serious business of Government, first clearing up a decade of disaster, fixing our broken state, and then rebuilding a nation, one for us to be proud of again, where dignity is restored and hope is reignited.

The next Labour Government will rebuild trust in politics and set high standards for office, with integrity at its heart.

The next Labour Government will focus on mending the NHS, as we did in 1997, fixing the economy and planet together and building the homes you need, the services you depend on and opportunities you long for.

I want you to have a better future, and will work, day and night with you to ensure you get the very best for you and your children.

Politicians are not all the same. Our parties don’t believe the same things. Our actions are markedly different.

From its formation, out of the workplaces through the trade unions, Labour sought to make politics relevant to address the very real needs of working people. It is that call which energises our focus today. Radical, reforming and relevant.

The party is over. The country may be crumbling and the Government collapsing. The future now rests in your hands. So, let’s ‘move on’ and let Labour move in as we move forwards together.

 

This article appeared in the York Press on 8th June 2022

Link to Instagram Link to Twitter Link to YouTube Link to Facebook Link to LinkedIn Link to Snapchat Close Fax Website Location Phone Email Calendar Building Search