Last Monday was Blue Monday apparently…yet that was the day I felt ready to begin the new year. The mornings are becoming lighter and we are past the Christmas and New Year disruption. The news is dominated by the post office debacle and the beginnings of electioneering. I drafted out a diagram illustrating the problems with the post office. Given that sub-postmasters are self-employed, straightaway one can see that there is no management structure within which they can submit questions, no HR support, no overview of staff. To my mind, this is a recipe for disaster given the size of the post office. And it evidently has been a disaster for so many people for a great many years. But, my sympathies are with so many groups of people – the many who are, who have been, who have yet to be, displaced through decisions made by central government. (As I type this, the Fanfare for the Common Man is playing on Classic FM, a timely reminder of my heartfelt pride when being awarded an honours degree from the Open University). I digress. The overall feeling I have recently is one of anger. Anger against those who are making decisions for the so-called common good and the economy. The economy is not just a monetary thing but driven by the happiness and contentment of people. If people are struggling to make ends meet and are also displaced, then this feels like a failure of the current system.
Democratic countries allow people to have their say, cast a vote, and yet many do not have access to the full story when making decisions about whom to vote for, let alone understand the issues involved. The current system of ‘first past the post’ is now well past its useby date but a proportional representation system also has limitations when many parties are represented. Perhaps now is the time to find a new way, where those voted to make decisions on our behalf should show their ability to do so through a similar process to a job application with full cvs, a good education, and work experience. Logically, Sir Keir fullfills this remit but I have doubts over the general composition of the Labour Party. I would like to see more cross party representation when huge decisions are being made regarding the NHS, transport, Europe, climate change and so on. That way, the best minds would be brought to bear on a subject. Everyone wants and deserves decent housing, health care, education, and employment which transcends any one political party and surely should be the aims of all of them. When key jobs are still only paid around £10-15 an hour, there is a lot to be done to improve the pay and status of such. Radically, do top managers really justify 6 figure salaries? To get the ‘economy moving’, surely the quickest way is to ensure that more people have more disposable income?
On a lighter note…pun intended…the goodness of people was ably demonstrated this week at a fundraising concert held in Honiton. Iryna Ilnytska and fellow singers and musicians gave of their time to enthrall a good size audience to raise funds for Ukrainian volunteers and a school in Uganda.
Karen Hedges 