Mike Davies sets out the principles and issues — ignored by the major parties —on which he is standing for the AGS in Leeds North East
This is an odd election. Although ‘odd’ scarcely covers it.
The key issue facing the country, indeed all countries, is the environmental crisis. This is set to disrupt and destroy our world as we know it. Global heating and massivepollution have already started to erode our civilisation. It is being met, not with serious measures to protect the environment on which we all depend, but with lies, excuses for inaction, and even the blaming of its early victims.
The Tories for certain but, shockingly, Starmer’s Labour also backpedals on its measures and promises – already totally inadequate for the scale and depth of the crisis facing us. This life-threatening set of problems is already giving us drought, storms, floods, unstoppable fires and epidemics.
One consequence is ever increasing waves of refugees. An example: when the Greenland icesheet melts – it is already melting – nearly the whole of Bangladesh will be under water. Where will 175 million Bangladeshis go? In the lifetimes of our grandchildren, our complex global civilisation will crumble.
Without a doubt, capitalism is the driving force behind the destruction of our environment. Capitalism requires endless, unlimited growth – an absurdity on one planet with finite resources. Capitalism drives not only unsupportable consumption but local and global pollution. Yet Starmer puts growth at the centre of Labour’s economic policy.
Everyone knows that capitalism exploits working people. It also exploits consumers. Capitalism turns life for the poor into a struggle to survive, and life for the not-so poor into a futile pursuit of ‘stuff’ as a substitute for fulfilment. And that is just for those of us fortunate to be living in one of the world’s so-called advanced economies.
The prosperity of Britain and most of the West was built, over the last couple of centuries, on ruthless exploitation of labour in poorer countries. The kind of less greedy, more co-operative society the AGS advocates would be less hungry for energy and more concerned about equitable relationships with other countries and their people.
Labour is protecting capitalism
These issues should be central to manifestos and debate throughout the election campaign. Instead they are next to invisible. One can understand the Tories avoiding them. The basis of their politics is support for capitalism, so of course they are reluctant to highlight its deadly consequences. But Labour?
Starmer has chosen to adopt Tory fiscal rules as well as Tory policies. He too is fixated on protecting capitalism. As a consequence he has reneged on his environmental promises of only two years ago.
In – shocking – effect he has cast away the idea of Labour as a party of genuine opposition to Tory politics. Labour now reveals itself as no different in policies from the Conservatives – just more ‘competent’, whatever that is supposed to mean.
The AGS will address the big questions of environmental collapse and the capitalist system that generates it and makes the mass of people poorer.
Health, housing and transport
We will ensure the NHS and social care are properly funded-and publicly provided, with no diverting our money to the private sector. Education will be brought back into local, democratic control instead run by corporations.
There will be major investment in council housing to make good the catastrophic damage done by Thatcher and her successors. Decent housing should be everyone’s right. We will invest in good public transport, reducing the need for car travel.
We will pursue public investment for public benefit.
How will we pay for this? Easy. By taxing the ultra-rich – and by making sure they actually pay their tax. Our country is not broke, it just allows immoral hoards of wealth to sit in the wrong hands. The very rich are effectively immune from the taxes ordinary people pay but the rich avoid and evade.
Everything we do will put our environment first, reducing deadly pollution and eliminating our greenhouse gas emissions.
We acknowledge our absolute dependency on our local and global environment.
Mike Davies is Chair of the AGS
Alliance for Green Socialism 