By Luke James
“I grew up in the '30s with an unemployed father.
He didn't riot. He got on his bike and looked for work, and he kept looking 'til he found it.”
Those are the infamous words of former Conservative Secretary for Employment (presumably someone was being ironic when they gave him that title) Norman Tebbit.
They are the words that inspire the latest generation of Conservatives who say they want to help people trapped in “ghettos of poverty” to move to find work.
The ghettos of poverty Iain Duncan Smith talks about are our communities, which now lack opportunities. The Tories solution to the poverty they are massively responsible for creating is now to try and destroy families and community, the glue that helps us through these tough times.
By ‘moving to work’ the Tories mean they want to see the same depopulation that helped destroy the Welsh language when people were lured, or forced, to move to work in Liverpool or London or even in Wales’ industrial cities.
What the Conservatives are engineering is a state where community is a commodity which can only be afforded by the well off and for the rest of us to be a transient population moving around the UK, with total disrespect for culture and language, in search of work.
The message the Conservatives want young people to hear loud and clear is that we have no right to expect to live near our family and friends, no right to continue living in the place we have been brought up and no right to expect to be able to find an affordable home there.
For many people that’s not a problem, it’s great to be able to ‘fly the nest’, perhaps for those of us who are lucky enough to go to university and then to some metropolis. But that dream becomes far less appealing when it is because of the hopelessness of your home not because of your ambitions.
It amazes me that the Conservatives can still claim to be the party of the family, purely based on their out dated views that the family is still mother, father and two point four children all under the same roof.
The Conservatives objection to the Welsh governments housing LCO earlier this year is also part of their agenda to smash community and create a roving population to serve to support the needs of the free market.
None of this is the ‘new politics’ David Cameron boasts of – to be fair at least Cameron hasn’t betrayed his party’s philosophy and purpose unlike Blair and New Labour.
In many ways I’m a conservative, I want to conserve my community, our nation, our culture and language and I won’t sit back and let it be destroyed so the shareholders of Capitalism PLC can reap the rewards.
So my suggestion, for now, how about we start making bikes for the Tories to get on or say cars, in Wales, and provide people with opportunities where they live. This isn’t a new idea, it is called sustainability, but the British parties are happy enough to just pay lip service to it.
As Dylan Thomas said ambition is critical, and it is but lets have ambition for ourselves, our communities and nation rather than allow a greedy few to tell us what’s good for the market is good for the people.
“Llifed dagrau'r gwangalon a llyfed y taeog y llawr
Er dued y fagddu o'n cwmpas, ry'n ni'n barod am doriad y wawr!”
“Let the faint-hearted keep wailing, let the serfs grovel and fawn
In spite of the darkness around us, we're ready to greet a new dawn.”
I for one am nobody's serf - bring on the referendum!
An easy mistake
12 hours ago
4 comments:
... hmm, so, you're against people from Poland or Nigeria or Pakistan moving to work here? Oh no, that's 'good' and 'are economy wouldn't function without them' and 'they show initiative and bring cultural richness to the UK' - all of which I agree with by the way.
But it does seem odd to say the least that the Left Wing critise the idea of work ethic in people who live here but celebrate it people who move here to work.
The Left fret that there isn't enough work or that people will be forced to do menial work but don't want to reduce the number of immigrants coming here. Thereby creating an underclass of people who can't/won't work because the constant flow of motivated and talented people from abroad who've 'got off their bike' are doing what work there is.
There's a strong argument for dispersing job opportunities across the UK and then within Wales. Plaid has an important part to play in that. But the Left has to be a little less lazy in their thinking. The state doesn't owe anyone a living and the world doesn't owe any state or country a living either.
"But it does seem odd to say the least that the Left Wing critise the idea of work ethic in people who live here but celebrate it people who move here to work."
That's a crap argument not to mention a false dichotomy.
Iain Duncan Smith's idea requires the state incentivising people that live in existing social housing to leave some areas where there are no jobs and move to areas where there are alot of jobs. Now bearing in mind there is a very current shortage of social housing almost everywhere in the UK- let alone parts of the UK and Wales where there is work (I suppose it would mean Newport, Cardiff, Swansea and possibly Bridgend and the Vale, and parts of the north-east of Wales- all areas of housing pressure), that is a problem.
It's alot different to people naturally following capital around the world, a process engineered by markets rather than states.
"There's a strong argument for dispersing job opportunities across the UK and then within Wales. Plaid has an important part to play in that. But the Left has to be a little less lazy in their thinking. The state doesn't owe anyone a living and the world doesn't owe any state or country a living either."
That is a piss poor statement. If you or Plaid wants to see job opportunities dispersed, rather than concentrated, then you're going to have to disagree with this IDS policy! It's precise effect would be to concentrate labour and capital in certain areas!
You need to put aside your childish gripe against the 'Left Wing' and get real. It's common sense. Spread the wealth throughout Wales, create jobs in rural Wales, innovate. It's you who is lazy in your thinking. I suppose you'd rather 'let the market decide'. Nuts.
"You need to put aside your childish gripe against the 'Left Wing' and get real. It's common sense. Spread the wealth throughout Wales, create jobs in rural Wales, innovate. It's you who is lazy in your thinking. I suppose you'd rather 'let the market decide'. Nuts."
Agree with spreading the wealth, agree with devolving jobs, don't believe the market should decide everything either. Don't think our lives should be ruled by banks, City of London etc. But don't think the current thinking within Plaid of believing that people should have money for doing nothing and that they should expect a job to arrive on their doorstep is viable nor right.
Not for or against immigration just pointing out that all the arguments you use against IDS are arguments which outside immigration either contradict and (especially the issues immigration raise) which the Left Wing dismisses. Left wing have dismissed arguments about 'job coercion' or 'housing shortage' caused by immigration but use it against IDS when he talks of 'internal immigration'.
How do you answer problems like work coming to Merthyr (meat processing plant) an area of high unemployment and inactivity but the work being filled by Polish people? Not the 'fault' of Polish people. But it does raise some issues of people in the area not wanting to work.
Up to you.
As a nationalist I can now vote Yes in the referendum for more power. We're not going to get a new Welsh language Act or Education Strategy as that's already sorted. So, what else on the constitutional or language issue is there to vote for? If so, I'm just starting to think should I vote for a party which believes some Govt policies can change the economy of Wales without getting to grip with some of the cultural and structural problems associated with work and welfare dependency here?
As I said, up to you. I'm not seeing many strong arguments by Plaid on this except, 'please London, give us some more money cos we're poor people'. That's how it comes over.
"o, what else on the constitutional or language issue is there to vote for? If so, I'm just starting to think should I vote for a party which believes some Govt policies can change the economy of Wales without getting to grip with some of the cultural and structural problems associated with work and welfare dependency here?
As I said, up to you. I'm not seeing many strong arguments by Plaid on this except, 'please London, give us some more money cos we're poor people'. That's how it comes over."
That's fair enough but seeing as you know a little about Plaid and the Welsh political context, the referendum etc, you'll be aware that Ieuan Wyn Jones is this week publishing a hallmark shift in Welsh economic policy.
To the extent that the Welsh Govt has influence on the Welsh economy, there will be a change of emphasis towards indigenous businesses. I would hope that you will welcome that.
I know it isn't perfect- and Plaid is a party that allows its members to discuss imperfections and flaws- but you have to honestly look at the other parties and compare what they are offering to us.
I see no harm whatsoever in asking for more money in London- it can be used to build infrastructure (As Ieuan's new strategy indicates) which is the foundation for future growth and jobs in Wales.
Post a Comment