The election is not just about Brexit
I READ with interest the responses to Dr Leicester’s letter (suggesting a progressive alliance, May 10).
I do not agree that it is inevitable that Nicky Morgan will win, nor do I subscribe to the characterisations of the progressive parties expressed.
I have nothing against Nicky Morgan personally but I vehemently disagree with the ideologies and policies of her party.
It concerns me that people are so willing to repeat soundbites and regurgitate hyperbole unquestioningly. We should be focusing on the real issues faced by the country and what the parties are actually offering.
Dr Leicester was right to suggest such an alliance as Labour is indeed a progressive party.
I understand that the trade union movement has negative connotations for some but it is at our peril if we forget those who fought for us to have a weekend off, maternity leave, paid sick and holiday leave, fair wages and safe working conditions. These are rights we all enjoy and that unions work to protect.
Labour have produced a costed manifesto that is typical of many fiscally healthy social democracies, a leader with huge support from party members, a shadow Home Secretary that messes up as much as the Chancellor and the ex-exeducation minister do. All parties have in-fighting and resignations.
No one knows what the future may hold (which might be why the Conservatives didn’t cost their manifesto or explain how they’d finally meet the deficit target they keep missing) yet no party has proposed taking us back in time.
There are clear choices however between a progressive future or further hardship for the majority of the country failed by the ideology of austerity.
The Lib Dems are providing an alternative view on Brexit popular with many. All progressive parties want to support refugees and it is only right that we play our part in the international community to provide sanctuary for those people displaced by war and persecution. As to immigration, no party has called for an unregulated border or unlimited immigration as some may suggest. It is right though that we have immigration policy that keeps families together and targets that are driven by economic need.
The Greens, as a progressive party, would obviously want to ensure that progressive parties have the best possible chance. An alliance that is in place in other constituencies.
Although all the progressive parties are aiming to improve lives and protect vital public services, there are clear differences between them.
No one can say that all the parties are the same anymore. We have a choice and a duty to make that choice as informed as possible by actually reading the manifestos and listening to the speeches directly rather than accepting the spin of whatever media outlet we are most comfortable with.
The election isn’t just about Brexit. The survival of our NHS, how we value and look after our elderly, an educational system that provides opportunities for all our young people, protecting the environment so our grandchildren can grow old on a healthy planet, allowing those who cannot work (through disability or ill health) the ability to live independently and with dignity, making sure that the country actually works for everyone.
S.Featonby