Inspiration, exasperation, escape.

The General Election campaign season is upon us, finally.  It’s been a long time coming and yet it all feels utterly underwhelming: why?

For a small and busy minority it all seems very exciting.  There they go, knocking on lots and lots of doors and meeting lots of complete strangers to discover lots of hidden secrets and mysteries.

People are fed up apparently. The Tories are not popular, apparently. #Changeiscoming. Apparently.

What is not coming through as yet is an idea, a concept, a vision.
Stuff like Justice, equality and hope. Hope is so last election.
Now available only in isolated areas of Islington, at one time I can recall when Hope was worth fighting for in Folkestone. Slogans, eh?

Talking of slogans, how about “Under new management”, then.
Labour’s new management guarantees clean and ruthless efficiency without the messy mistakes of government gaffes and rain-sodden speeches or drink-sodden leadership peccadilloes and scandal. 
New management promises that the doorstep at Number 10 will be kept much cleaner: what goes on indoors stays indoors. If there is anything dodgy, new management ensures there is nothing dodgy about it.

To be fair, there are some inspiring individuals popping up during this election, maybe just not the right ones.  I’d hardly claim personal friendship with any of them, but you sometimes do get a sense of fellow traveller, empathy on issues relating to integrity, natural justice, all that soppy old Stuff.

Dominic is one of them. I actually met Dominic during a selection process interview and found him to have a keen intellect, compassion, a commitment to public service and a considered ability to reflect on difficult issues. Clearly made of the wrong stuff, then. Needless to say the democratic process was swiftly and carefully managed behind closed doors to ensure that people made of the right stuff got through.
Well, mostly. But that’s another story for another time.

Dominic came out last week so to speak, expressing well-managed anger alongside pride in his political principles not being a secret matter; it was cathartic, no doubt.  His personal statement on how he was expelled from membership of the Labour Party will resonate with hundreds who have been subject to Kafka-esque trials without reason or right of reply. 
Basically, an emoji intelligence squad had found him to have “liked” a comment on social media which was politically incorrect.  He was investigated, corrected and removed. New management.

Faiza is another: widely recognised as an extraordinary and refreshing representative of female, Muslim younger generation in a constituency that represented Conservative villainy for generations. She too was guilty of having held opinions, as far back as 2014, which do not align with the new management. Investigated, corrected and removed.

Diane is clearly trouble. You see her coming a mile off: older generation, black, female, opinionated. Reminds me of someone else I admire, despite our obvious differences of identity, experience and opinion.
Investigated, corrected and put on a list. Trouble. New management.

I met Lloyd during a savage public campaign of principle over a local school being hoovered up into an academy chain – one of those where BMWs are given to senior management instead of classroom support being given to students with additional needs. His courage and clarity were inspiring; he spoke eloquently in Parliament about the issue of community voice.
We can’t say why, but Lloyd is under investigation. You won’t hear from him again. Yes, we know: it’s being dealt with under new management.

Oh and him. I hardly dare speak his name. Jeremy. Anyone who has endured such venom and personal vilification – regardless of political position – inspires a ton of reflection on natural justice, fact and fiction, media and news manipulation. And what about that forgotten enquiry into what really happened. And yet he keeps going, doesn’t he just.
Old news. Jeremy and Forde were both investigated and put to bed.

So much for inspiration. Anyone else driving you wild with excitement?

Exasperation, then. It’s very easy to grasp the exasperation.

Firstly: you’ve got the widespread sense of casual racism, divisiveness, malpractice, gerrymongering, financial fiddles and bullying. Not much to complain of – and don’t expect to hear back if you do, by the way. Bigger fish to fry and all that. See the bigger picture, you know. Tories Out!
It’s part and parcel of new management in central government and local politics: just get over it. 1984 Newspeak: no substance, no complex values, just plenty of strong, authoritative talk.
Listen to it, seriously – on second thoughts, really don’t.

Secondly, a lot of lacklustre leadership and a lot of lazy thinking has produced a truly reactionary rationale for change. We hate the Tories. 2024: this is the year of angry. Yes indeed. And?

Third is the flipside of the second: perhaps a few of us think we should know and decide what we’re voting for: not what we’re voting against.  

Because if the central argument is all about voting against abuse of power – and how incompetent and cavalier the last decade has shown our national leaders to be at sheer venality, self-serving and elitist division – perhaps we might not want to trade all that for a different brand of wrong-doing.

Some of us still want something positive to believe in. It’s not just the far left who are uneasy about this election and the sense of a moral vacuum, it’s a wider new wave of political homelessness.

This is not an advertising campaign: it’s meant to be an election campaign engaging ordinary people in the debate around real choice and real change. We need material change, we’re not shopping around or simply choosing a different brand of washing powder.

We want to hear local and national candidates’ views on how we tackle gross inequality: a set of principles on how we change the experience of people who don’t have enough to eat. Not platitudes about how awful it is – as if it’s another grimly kind and imploring charity appeal.  

We’d love to hear some real respect for diversity of identity, viewpoints, lived experience in personal and political behaviour instead of soundbites and shouty self-righteous puffing on social media.

SEE the potential for positive policy:

Self development and opportunity
Economy
Environment

How about demonstrating an inclusive and supportive approach for people under pressure? Understanding what binds us together, but allows us to have an individuality and identity.
Once upon a time we had More in Common, way back when.

How about election statements which talk of investing in communities: a new economic paradigm which moves the power from patronage, corporate bodies and fiefdoms into real social responsibility and mutuality. Public services that work, with money and moral purpose.
Perhaps starting with national utilities, dare we ask if it would be the view of our parliamentary candidate that we should have national utilities owned by the state to serve our people rather than their shareholders? Or do we have to be very careful what we say, perhaps.

Perhaps we could hear candidates take a clear stand on the global complexities of climate change; warfare and the difficult subjects of arms trade, genocide and international law. Hmm: it’s a bit touchy.

Maybe, we could have a raft of core policies for our communities and practical plans rooted in values we can identify with. Maybe.

Perhaps even a slogan that means something. 
The simple statement that could turn exasperation into inspiration.
It’s there in front of us all….staring every keyboard warrior in the face.
Over on the far left of every computer keyboard sits the ESC button. 

Empowering Social Change. See: it’s not that difficult…. 
Not everything on the far left is right but nor is it completely wrong.