Well, firstly, I’m gonna switch this to ‘Prime Minister Campaign’, on the grounds of being from Britain, but I’m sure the general gist will be similar. Regular readers of this blog (or the Coalition of the Brave site) will be quite aware of my outspoken views on politics, and will have quite-rightly identified me as a left-winger, for which I am not ashamed. In fact, I will wear that label quite proudly.
In stark comparison to existing Tory government policies (and the disappointing way in which Labour seem to offer merely watered-down Tory policies, rather than meaningful alternative ideas), I’d run a campaign that takes a view leaves from Jeremy Corbyn’s book.
Firstly, as a country, the UK spends approximately £6.5 billion on nuclear weapons, every year. I see no point in spending money on these terrible weapons, save for ensuring their safe storage and/or disposal. Assuming, as a country, we could wipe that spending from the books, that’s a lot of money freed up for various other things.
We should also take a look at sustained wealth taxes. This might be unpopular with certain quarters (such as our filthy rich PM Rishi Sunak, or millionaire Jacob Rees-Mogg), but instead of obscenely jacking up people’s energy bills, I’d take a serious look at a number of ways to raise at least £37 billion a year, from various wealth tax schemes. I would put into law rules that forbid companies like Amazon and Google from jacking up their prices, and I wouldn’t tolerate the measly excuse of inflation.
So, between these taxes and what might be saved on nuclear spending, we’re looking at around £43 billion a year for the treasury. Some of that money could go towards nationalising (in part or in full) the UK’s energy companies. Currently, these businesses are clinging to the war in Ukraine as an excuse to massively inflate the bills of the average Brit, despite wholesale gas prices going down. The Tories aren’t interested in doing anything meaningful to fix this, because they’re probably in cahoots. Some likely get kick-backs from the energy business, or benefit from the status quo, despite the misery being inflicted upon millions of Britons.
I guess, across a range of factors, the area I’d want to tackle hardest is this idea that profits should come before people. Our train companies are ripping us off. The Tories are trying to undermine the NHS, with a view to selling it off, despite the awful, shambolic situation that exists where people cannot afford medical procedures. I’d seek to stop selling weapons to despotic regimes, though I am fully aware that might be a huge financial hit for the country, so it might be a case of having to slowly wean the nation off such tainted milk.
In terms of green energy, I believe this to be the future, not only because we need to stop poisoning the planet, but because it will become cheaper, and more efficient, as time goes by, and we should get in on that, as early as possible. Electric cars will become better and more efficient, the means of producing the batteries for them will become cleaner (especially if produced via solar, hydro and wind power). Reducing our dependence on foreign gas and oil will be crucial to the economic and environmental survival of the country.
Time now, for what might be one of my most controversial ideas. I’d support legalising all illegal drugs.
Now, you might be thinking ‘woah’, but hear me out. Legalising them takes power away from the criminals that use them to fund all sorts of illicit actions. Putting them under governmental control (in terms of both production and supply) cuts the legs off the drug lords. If drugs are sold at licenced locations, it will be easier to identify who is regularly using them, and retailers could also function as a place to seek help. Counsellors, anti-drug messages, the opportunity to escape from it… seated alongside a safe place to purchase such materials, without the risk of a dodgy batch, or an angry dealer, would save lives, whilst also (and this is a more cynical position) raise funds for the government. It would only be right to plough any money raised straight into the NHS.
In terms of education, I’m torn. There are some extremely successful education systems out there in the world, such as Korea’s and Japan’s, though Nordic examples cannot be overlooked. The education systems of Sweden and Norway are superior to the UK’s as it stands, and though these countries can be somewhat more expensive to live in, they also tend to produce a superior quality of life. In some respects, they are also a lot cheaper. The average cost of childcare in the UK is $1,113.22. In Sweden? $139.39. These countries aren’t perfect, but they outperform the UK across many key metrics, and that cannot be ignored when forming new policies.
I believe the means are there to help everyone in this country. Despite the claims of some particularly vile trolls in the past, that I am a communist who would strip away everyone’s wealth, I would merely seek to ensure that the rich pay their fair share of tax, to ensure that no one lives in poverty. There would still be wealthy people, they just wouldn’t be able to hoard so much money as before. For the likes of Rees-Mogg, it might be a case of having ‘only’ £7.5 million in the bank, rather than £10 million. He might have to scale back on the crates of champagne, what a hardship…
Will any of this ever come to pass? I don’t know. I’d love it to, but I am unlikely to become Prime Minister, and I know the media (heavily tied to Tory interests as they are) would fight tooth and nail to smear me, to degrade my campaign, and deride my ideas.
I would vote for you. It wouldn’t count (because I’m an American), but I’d vote for you.