Fear has dominated British politics for too long. Now let’s find optimism in those making a difference on their doorsteps
A past version of me described herself politically as a “pessimistic optimist”. Oxymoronic? Yes. Pretentious? Certainly. But it felt the most accurate way of characterising an outlook that was always prepared for the worst, but able to bear it because things, one day, might get “better”. Back then, I invested my hopefulness in mass political movements, believing that with the right chord-striking campaign – or even party leader – the country would be mobilised and sweeping, vaguely defined change would follow.
Unquestionably, “better” has not come to pass. During my lifetime, material conditions for Britons have measurably degraded. In-work poverty has risen to record highs; nearly one in five children in poverty live in a household where all adults are working. Cut through the government’s protestations about increases in public spending and look at the reality: for millions of people, standards of living are the worst they have been. In real-world terms, incomes have remained stagnant or shrunk, while the cost of living – or more accurately, the cost of just-about-surviving – has shot up thanks to a steep rise in just about every basic outgoing.
