Wednesday 11th November

Well, when Madame Thatcher finally shuffled off stage and was replaced by the milder mannered John Major we all thought that things might settle down and we could return to consensus politics.  More or less, since the war consensus politics has been the accepted way of doing things.  Governments would come and go, and changes and reforms would be made, but essentially the type of country we were would remain the same.  And consensus politics also recognized that although a Government might have a majority in Parliament and have a certain political philosophy, favouring either the free market or a more Socialist approach, major changes could only be attempted with overwhelming agreement; and not only of the Political parties but also of the general population.  It was accepted that the NHS was a pillar of our society, as was free education and a decent retirement pension and a safety net for those who lost their jobs or were too poorly to work at all.  After all, we lived in a decent caring society, where despite striving for a better life for us and our children, we understood that there were many in our midst less fortunate than us, and that some of our taxes would be used for these people.

Of course things are never perfect and successive Governments tinkered with the NHS, with our schools and with the Welfare system, but by and large and despite reservations, they have remained more or less intact.  The last Government, the Coalition, though despised by many and with the LibDems especially derided for allowing a Tory Government in by the back door, did at least have to achieve some sort of consensus between those two parties in order to pass legislation.  This did not stop it from trebling tuition fees, or forcing huge staff cuts on the public sector (and demonizing the whole concept of Public Service incidentally) and reducing benefits for many.

But now it seems we are moving into an era when consensus is thrown out of the window.  George Osborne seems hell-bent on reducing the state, and making the poor pay for tax cuts for the rich.  It is only one step away from saying that in the near future the public sector will no longer exist.  There has been a steady increase in privatizing services which were once run not for profit but for the public good.  And of course the Labour response, electing an out and left-winger, will only make consensus even more difficult to find.  Most people do not want these massive changes; they simply want decent schools for their kids, a free and competent NHS close to where they live and a safety net if they should fall.  But there is now no consensus at all on how this can be achieved.