Mikey, I will never forget the huge landslide victory for the Labour Party in 1997 either. It was euphoric. Unfortunately that disillusioned euphoria was, over subsequent years, systematically eroded and disappointingly replaced by irrefutable stark reality. In 1997 the Labour Party made fools of the working man; it is still attempting to make fools of the working man – and in many instances it is still succeeding – which is why you consistently laud Labour’s introduction of a minimum wage whilst wilfully ignoring its actions in rendering what appeared on the surface to be beneficial, wretchedly ineffectual.
Which party is the party of the working man? None of the major parties – and that’s a good thing because such a mentality discourages aspiration, it discourages independence, it perpetuates long out-dated notions of class division, and by continually and quite disingenuously portraying the working man as a victimised underling it undermines personal self-esteem.
Regardless of income, those who work for a living are doing just that – working to live – and all, without exception, seek to improve their lifestyles, so you have to ask yourself just who the working man actually is. The cloth cap days that you so desperately cling to are gone; Labour is well aware of that, but whilst it can continue to maintain its grip upon the intractable idealistic notions of people who revel in the illusion of past glories, it’s not telling. As such a vocal exponent of education, I’m surprised you don’t realise that you are being hoodwinked.
Thank you, Linda.