Headline-writers are convinced we’re heading back to the 1970s, in a summer dominated by strikes, inflation and Kate Bush.
Only one of these is a good thing.
But I see the ripples of history going back further. As the government in Westminster shuns the demands of train workers, teachers and nurses for a bumper pay rise, there’s more than a whiff of “homes fit for heroes” about the current situation.
After the First World War, then prime minister David Lloyd George – a womanising populist with scant respect for the norms of decent behaviour or integrity in government – promised Britain’s victorious soldiers would be recognised, particularly with “homes fit for heroes”. He didn’t deliver.
The UK has been through a new struggle over the last two years, to preserve our way of life in the face of Covid. And, we have a new generation of heroes as a result – teachers, shop staff, transport workers and, above all, healthcare professionals, who walked out into the teeth of the pandemic every day in order to keep us safe and society functioning. Like the Tommies in the trenches between 1914 and 1918, many carry a heavy mental toll as a result.
To suggest such people don’t deserve a pay rise is insulting and insidious. For a start, most have already suffered real world pay falls or stalls due to Westminster austerity since 2010. And, despite that disrespect, they still didn’t falter when called upon.
We clapped them then. Now is the time to settle the bill.
Boris Johnson’s lack of action is shameful
Downing Street says there aren’t the funds to go round. But, the Treasury has money, it’s just choosing how to spend, save and raise it.
A million quid to work out that a bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland is daft? No problem. Billions flushed away on a duff test and trace system, and crooks skimming off a decent cut of Covid cash.
And, a too slim cadre of particularly older people are holding a disproportionate amount of the nation’s wealth. We face a future in which your life chances are determined by whether you’re lucky enough to be related to someone in that cohort or not.
Some judicious, redistributive taxation, targeted at wealth rather than income, could unlock those resources.
The folk Boris Johnson applauded from his doorstep two years ago are now at his door asking for more
Of course, health and education are devolved but it’s decisions at 11 Downing Street that determine budgets in Holyrood. Despite this, the SNP still, rightly, found a token bonus for Scots healthcare workers last year.
The folk Boris Johnson applauded from his doorstep two years ago are now at his door asking for more. To turn away and stay silent is shameful.
James Millar is a political commentator, author and a former Westminster correspondent for The Sunday Post
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