An interesting book by an 'ordinary person' who has over the years become increasingly worried and frustrated about the direction in which the UK is moving. He was in the UK army in WW2, and did post-war service in Germany, where he met his wife.
HLS identifies the problems facing the UK as follows:
- Politicians have an obsession with government debt, slashing budgets and eradicating social welfare.
- Governments try to control the information delivered to their citizens. UK and US media are owned by a few wealthy corporations and rich families. [Harry cites the Leveson enquiry in the UK about press conduct and the failure to implement its findings.]
- Housing initiatives cannot be left to the private sector. Not everyone wants or can own their accommodation, whether a house or a flat. Rent levels are a problem for those with low income.
- The government wants us to believe that recession is not caused by the financial sector or corporations not paying tax, but the fault of the lowly benefit seeker. Newly jobless must wait seven days to sign on. Payday loan companies are predators.
- Corporations and lobby groups get concessions from government. Tax avoidance impacts on society are reduced social spending.
- The money spent on the New Year fireworks is not realistically affordable when the economy is fragile. The government pays £43.5 billion in subsidies to private enterprise, excluding tax grants - at a time when the corporate sector had cash surplus in billions of £s. Off-shore havens mean taxes are not paid.
- Life expectancy for the poor in the UK is on average 13 years less than for the rich.
- It is estimated that more than 3 million UK children go to bed hungry.
- The education is increasingly monetised, with private schools and university fees.
- The government wants teachers' salaries to be based on student exam results.
- Fee paying schools were attended by 54% of Tory MPs (33% of all MPs, and 7% of the general population).
- Five families control 20% of UK wealth. (Oxfam figures).
- Boredom results in people seeking stimulation - drinking, risk taking, graffiti. Solitary confinement results in boredom - and sometimes mental illness. Even ordinary imprisonment causes boredom, resulting in lethargy, drug taking, fights and other violence, and depression.
- Prisoners need occupation that is stimulating to counteract the boredom. There is some evidence that listening to music stimulates the mind; classical music seems to be the most beneficial.
- Other activities that help allieviate boredom are aerobic exercise, intellectual actvity (many prisoners would benefit from literacy and numeracy classes) and community and social interaction.
- Salaries for MPs, Ministers and Prime Minister to be frozen except for cost of living increases.
- Term limits for PMs, Lords and MPs.
- E-voting and lowering the voting age to 17.
- Record spoiled ballot papers.
- Move to proportional representation.
