Past time for the Left to ‘see it, say it, sort it’

Posted on February 6, 2025 by Scottish Socialist Voice

EDITORIAL by Ken Ferguson

• Chancellor Reeves’ much hyped dash for growth which would take the UK in a new direction leading to sunny uplands of prosperity and plenty turned out to be that poverty stricken unappetising Scottish dish, cauld kale… Cold, wild cabbage.

Her hymn to the priorities of the rich, the wickedness of those defending “newts and bats” and the need to sacrifice all on the altar of greed and profit was indeed extremely cauld kale in that it last appeared on the menu when the chef was David Cameron in 2014.

As then so now the central policy which holds the key to a golden future is simple — deregulate, cut taxes and keep the tax person’s hands off their astonishing super profits of the super rich.

Thus will the talented rich be motivated to action, come up with ever more money making ideas from private healthcare through more cuts in “unaffordable`’ services to increasing ways to turn basic needs such as housing, health even water into profit centres.

And, as their fairy story assures us, the rising tide will float all our boats and both duke and dustmen will prosper.

Labour echoing Tories
This was the story spun by the 2014 Tories under Cameron and now being re-recorded by an increasingly desperate supposed ”Labour” government and presented — with the willing aid of a gullible media pack — as the pathway to plenty.

However one of the hazards of basing your appeal on a remake is that the evidence of how successful it was last time is on the record and put at its kindest it is at best uninspiring.

Casting an eye on today’s Britain after the deregulation path was taken (and as Kamikaze Keir prepares to take it again) and there is little grounds for cheer.

The jewel in our public service crown, the NHS, is in permanent crisis and beset by PFI debts as newly minted health secretary Streeting seeks out more privatisation.

The housing crisis is acute, train fares are dearer than planes, tens of thousands face poverty pay and WASPI women and over two children families are snubbed with the curt “unaffordable” tag.

Examples of these failures abound such as social care, soaring energy costs — the list goes on.

Bosses certify own work
But in this sorry catalogue of failure surely one event above all illuminates the deadly consequences of this policy of giving bosses a free hand to certify their own work.

Grenfell Tower contractors benefitted from the scrapping of building inspectors and installed the deadly highly flammable cladding that killed 73 people but has yet so far none of those who did this have faced a court.

In this context, the turn to full-fat deregulated market led growth by the Labour leadership show that as was said of the Bourbon Kings, “They had learned nothing and forgot nothing,” and are set on a path doomed to failure.

Little did an electorate weary of the Toris last summer as the voted for “Change” think that they were taking the self same ‘bosses know best” path.

It was while sitting on an — on time — train that I was struck by the political usefulness of that oft repeated “see it, say it, sort it” message as it warns of unexplained bags etc on the train.

Not a lot of voters tempted back to Labour in Fife, Glasgow or Lothians last year will have been backing plans for a third Heathrow runway which will cost billions as pensioners freeze and patients in medical need wait in hospital corridors.

Given that this plan will meet fierce resistance, take 20 years and visit massive destruction on homes and the environment the temptation is to believe it is a highly visible stalking horse to cover a much broader pro market turn.

Not only will this spark unrest but, aping as it does similar turns elsewhere by so called workers’ parties it can expect the same results — defeat, and already stirring, a growth of the populist far right as we discuss elsewhere in this Voice.

So having as per the slogan seen it and said it, how do we sort it?

As a starting point must be the fact that many of the ideas supported by the Left such as large scale council housing, public ownership in particular of energy, scrapping the council tax replacing it with a service tax based on income, free public transport as an alternative to cars and so on command wide popular support.

Left alternative
In past years, such an approach would have been campaigned for in major parties such as Labour or the SNP but given that both are now firmly attached to the market failures the question must be how can such a challenge be made?

Although the basis of a Left alternative commands broad agreement that agreement is also based on a range of parties and formations each with their own profile which they would be unlikely to surrender.

Like the Scottish Socialist Party, the Voice has long supported, as an expression of a Left approach, presenting a programme or charter of demands aimed at taking forward a serious Red/Green alternative both to today’s soggy centrists and the growing far right.

It might not sort it but it would at least make a start.