I always knew the Conservative party cared naught for the likes of me. My grandparents were servants, not landowners. My father was denounced from the pulpit for daring to challenge the status quo and put a Labour candidate up for election. (This meant the expense and bother of having an actual election rather than simply having the local big wigs sort it out amongst themselves.) I remember when it was possible to be shot for the crime of having an Irish accent and carrying a table leg, without even having an Irish accent. My accent is of the harsh northern type. I come from Churchill’s “dreary steeples of Fermanagh and Tyrone.” Not long ago, people with my accent- me and mine- we were who the people of GB were scared of.
As the perceived threat of my voice receded, of course, I became something else. Another sort of other. I became chronically ill, had to give up work. I have to submit to the ritual and regular humiliation of applying for welfare support. The technical term is ‘benefit scrounger’. For years now, the sick and disabled have been disproportionatley affected by so called austerity measures. Hundreds of people have died not long after being found ‘fit for work’. And concerns, criticisms, complaints are all seen to be ‘well, you would say that’- as if we are only capable of personal bias, as if we have no empathy, no sense of society, no desire for equitable treatment. We have nothing to offer the world, in this view, those of us not able for gainful employment. We are there to be tolerated, at best, those of who are sick. We are not valued. Being of no use, we are nothing.
And still, I am shocked: List foreign employees.Foreign doctors to leave after interim period
Despite never being considered ‘one of us’, I am horrified. But if you believe you are a citizen of the world, you are a citizen of nowhere.
I didn’t expect good things, but I never expected this. Remove armed forces from the requirements of human rights law
I’ve been burying my head, ignoring politics for a while, because I was annoyed at what was going on. I was overwhelmed and feeling useless.
But we know the truth as Burke told it: All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
We cannot be the people to do nothing.
Social media users are familiar with Godwin’s law, where if an online discussion goes on long enough, someone will compare a person or idea to Hitler or Nazism. We have reached a real life point where the Home Secretary gave a speech broadly similar to parts of Mein Kampf.
These are scary times, chaps. It’s not just that the UK had a small majority vote to leave the European Union. A horrible undercurrent of right wing xenophobia appears to have become mainstream.
British= good.
Everything else= bad.
People who choose to live in the UK and contribute to the economy= bad.
How long will it take for British= white anglo saxon only?
We cannot be the people who do nothing.
me, mine, and other bits 
Well put my Irish british blogger I was going to say be ever sooo happy You dont have Donald Trump running in UK or His not much better opponent Hillary but you have your own Political nightmares As I know Full well from my twitter followings Hope Jake is hangin in there Give him a big smooch from the westielover across the pond
>^. .^< WOOF! PKK
I share your concerns and worries too and think you expressed them thoughtfully in this blog.
Agree. There is the financial class – I don’t want to call them “capitalists” because business and entrepreneurs, researchers, etc as well as workers/labouring getting on with it folk all need resources and the word capital is loaded to an US and THEM no matter which part we come from. So there is financial (use money to make more money) and productive (which includes those sitting at home being part of a home even if what they do is stay in bed because of inability to get up, everyone contributes as they can). Conservatives seem to either be financial class or want to become that, they live by competition, and do not want to be part of collaboration empathic, only paternalistic welfare doled to those deemed deserving. It shows if you heed the hidden aspects of what they say, and look at the do. Write on – you make sense – and encourage us all.
It’s terrifying isn’t it, and my Irish ancestry doesn’t even show in my voice! This sentence “Another sort of other” is key. Throughout history when we have identified people as other, and therefore not like us, it has opened up the floodgates for abuse. But now the Tory PLU mindset is excluding more and more of us, and all under a banner that says A Party That Works For Everyone.
Tiers of bureaucracy. Layers behind layers. Its a jungle out there. And the lions are getting harder to spot. But don’t give in. And don’t give up. And, what I take from you. Don’t be afraid to speak your mind.
And the Good Friday agreement was barely mentioned throughout Brexit. Sending a hug from here and hope you find ways to help that fit with your life X
Another great post, Fiona. It’s worse than the 80s
I’m sure you’re at least aware of the political circus going on in our U.S. Presidential election? I’m still hopeful that Trump will be defeated, but the fact is that he’s been able to gain an impressive amount of traction and he is peddling fear of others in words that seem to be resonating with millions of people. I think you’re right to be very concerned in your own country and wherever we can speak up, we should. It’s worrisome, and that’s a profound understatement.
Debra, I can’t even begin to talk about Trump without getting ranty & judgemental. I simply don’t understand how so many can know what he is & think that’s a good fit for President.
In the U.K. I think a lot of people saw the June referendum a bit like a TV reality vote, & now, because of uncertainty, the economy is falling apart, along with any consensus about equality, society etc. Goodness only knows how the world will be affected should Trump be elected. It’s incredible that we have got to this situation.
The Trump divide is affecting relationships. I’m not sure I can get past a few friends who will vote for him regardless of his despicable behavior simply out of protest of Hillary and old guard politics. I’m so disgusted I don’t think I can afford friendships that don’t see him as dangerous. We are all living in a time when it seems we often don’t agree on the spelling of the word integrity. We will know in one month what outcome awaits us at least regarding this circus!