How much more should we take?

Sometimes, the truth cuts more deeply than a lie. During a recent interview with Sky News, Russia’s deputy UN ambassador, Dmitry Polyanskiy, stated: “…we don’t trust British diplomacy.

“I think in recent years, British diplomacy has shown that it is absolutely worthless.”

I wonder if he was referring to Boris Johnson?

It has been said that diplomacy operates in the shadow that power casts. What kind of shade can we throw?

We have a prime minister who is the object of ridicule at home and abroad; his violation of rules that he set has marked him as a hypocrite.

His continued flailing has made him look more desperate. When he stands at Prime

Minister’s Question Time, we see him try to avoid pertinent questions. We see him work hard to evade responsibility, except in the sparsest way possible.

What good is he doing there? Outside the bubble of the Conservative Party, it’s difficult to see.

A supposed “levelling up” strategy has been belatedly launched, but is there any extra money to do anything?

It seems it is a brand on an empty box, a re-labelling of hot air.

We have seen that this government is unable to tackle waste. Billions have been lost due to fraud and then written off. £8.7 billion was wasted on PPE that was inadequate or overpriced.

For the purposes of comparison, this is the price tag for building 14 new hospitals. And yet, this government demands more taxes in the form of National Insurance contributions.

Would you pour water down a leaky pipe? Why would you pour even more?

The government claims credit for the vaccine rollout, but surely, the lion’s share of praise must go to the NHS.

It should be remembered that the NHS was created by a Labour government; the Tories opposed it.

But by having the NHS, we could respond to the challenges posed by the pandemic in a coherent way.

The Tories are basking in the glow that belongs to others.

All in all, the Conservatives have shown themselves to be exhausted, hapless and riddled with scandal.

Why are they there? What good do they do? At this point, there are no worthwhile answers.

As it is on a national level, the same applies to our local administration: why are they there? What good do they do?

They have mismanaged our finances and voted themselves a raise as a reward.

Why? To what end? Why should we pour more tax money into a local administration that is just as wasteful as the one in Westminster?

I have long articulated the case for change. As time goes on and disasters and mishaps mount, the need for a profound shift only becomes more acute.

How much more mismanagement can we bear? How much more should we tolerate? Or is it time to say enough is enough?

A lengthy period in Opposition can be instructive; I believe Labour has learned much since 2010.

I, too, have learned a great deal since I was first elected: ideas about how we can do things differently have sharpened; our ambitions for the country and the city have clarified.

We are energised by the task ahead.

Our opponents have shown they cannot run a country with dignity, nor manage our precious tax money, nor sustain an economy that works for all.