Why do we need a politics of care? This is why we do:
More than one in 20 people are homeless in parts of London, according to research published by the charity Shelter on Thursday after ministers set out a new strategy to stop people losing their homes.
Some 382,618 people are estimated to have nowhere permanent to live across England, an annual increase of 8 per cent, according to the charity's analysis of government data.
Both of these are staggering statistics, and the sort of data that drives me to believe a better world is possible.
What I know the right (including some of Labour) will say in response is twofold. First, they will suggest this is down to personal irresponsibility, and second, they will blame migrants. Neither is remotely true. This is the result of:
- Excessive rents
- Interest rates that have been deliberately pitched far too high
- Politicians who are indifferent to issues such as homelessness, when those suffering it are pretty much excluded from voting now
- Underfunding of all forms of social housing
- The withdrawal of support for many mental health services
- The causal destruction of local authorities by the Tories, about which Labour is doing nothing
- Too little support for those left behind in our society by autism and ADHD
- Antisocial neoliberal thinking that deliberately generates loneliness, isolation and indifference with its concentration solely on the individual
And yes, all that makes me angry.
Of course, we need a politics of care.
We have to change.
We have a duty to change.
We cannot afford not to change.
The time for walking on the other side is over.
Thanks for reading this post.
You can share this post on social media of your choice by clicking these icons:
There are links to this blog's glossary in the above post that explain technical terms used in it. Follow them for more explanations.
You can subscribe to this blog's daily email here.
And if you would like to support this blog you can, here:
Buy me a coffee!
It is a shame we have a politics of servitude to shareholders. We are going back to the times when society is geared for the wealthy and we just serve them. Profits boost GDP, while people cannot make ends meet and some sadly become homeless. It is pure greed. Just hearing about Amazon cutting staff because of “AI”, when in fact they are hiring immigrant workers for cheaper labour to maximise profits. Trump’s war on “drugs” with Venezuela is a smokescreen to allow multinational companies to target the richest oil reserves in the world. Private equity is also targeting everything from healthcare to housing. I will say it again, pure greed.
I am doing some work for a charity that helps people coming out of prison.
The other day we picked a young guy up from prison who was being released homeless. He has ADHD and other neuro diverse traits. Lovely guy, 30 years old, history of addiction which he had been helped with in prison.
We managed to find him temporary accommodation with the Salvation Army.
Otherwise he would have been sleeping rough.
We certainly do need a politics of care.
Thanks