You
could be forgiven for concluding that the emerging chaos, madness and random social
destructiveness of Brexit is all a sly ruse by the well-off to simply re-deregulate
Britain and make it – once more – a haven for the haves and a hell for the have-nots.
Yes, it
appears to have been a muddle, with Britain unravelling alarmingly quickly
since David Cameron sought to quell the right wing rats in his party and pander
to the jingoists with an in-out referendum he’d not though through. But remember
– as well as the underlying racism and xenophobia of the campaign there were decades
of rabid ranting about regulations from Brussels. It’s true, you don’t hear so
much bleating about EU Health and Safety Regulations since the Grenfell Tower disaster…
But two
news stories over the last few days strengthen the ugly impression that
there was an underlying, almost inevitable drive to the cliff top for very dark
but clear reasons. One
story relates to seismic instability of a geological nature and the other,
seismic instability of a socio-political nature.
Fracking
rules – we are told – may be relaxed. Apparently, they were too
stringent when put in place following the earth tremors experienced in
Lancashire 7 years ago after experimental fracking there. What wimps those Lancs folks are I hear you cry. Who wouldn’t want the experimental deep drilling on their doorstep which caused minor earthquakes last time it was
allowed?
With Brexit in their sights, Cuadrilla seem emboldened and determined
to start the subterranean pounding that is – by the way – banned by their
parent company’s country – France.
Then
there is Universal Credit. UC is the over-arching welfare benefit being brought in
to ‘streamline’ the benefits system.
The new welfare benefit is, in fact – as is always the case
with Tory administrations – euphemism for cutting
benefits. In this case cutting dramatically. Some low income families will, reportedly, be £200 per month worse off – and they are already scraping by. One
of the main targets is Tax Credits – one of the few things
Gordon Brown can be given real credit for. Working Tax Credit and Family Tax
Credit (I benefited from the latter) was brought in to alleviate the pounding
the economy took from the unregulated fiscal sector that brought us the
2008 crash and wages so low families could not live on them.
Although every informed commentator regards Universal Credit as a disaster – leading to horrible
financial difficulties for those already struggling at the bottom of the income pile –
just like Brexit – it is going ahead anyway. It is being rolled out further and
faster by the very people who know it is not working. Complaints, from
organisations such as the CAB and charities trying to help the needy, that it
is causing untold misery to struggling families, fall on deaf ears.
It is
increasingly difficult to drown out the howls of derisive laughter leaking from
the gilded sanctuaries of the wealthy and powerful as they anticipate our newly
de-regulated, austere, callous Britain. In my lifetime the UK went from a 1960's hopeful society that
wanted to improve opportunities for ordinary people to one which greedily
snatched those small concessions away. We will become again a haven for 1950's Rachman
- style landlords in a world where young people cannot get on the property
ladder and are crushed by personal debt. We will see again 1960s Cathy Come
Home - style family break ups as the welfare system turns to concrete. And
all in a socially and literally fractured land as profit trumps environmental
concerns and humanity in the new backwards Britain.
So back
to the good old bad old days – just what UKIP wanted and the Tories enabled.
*
Also check
out blog 142. Fracking Fraud