What Are the Real Main Concerns of Voters?
If you read a newspaper, listen to the news or hear a soundbite from an MP these days, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the only issue that most voters are concerned with are people coming here on boats.
Illegal Immigration
People are genuinely concerned over ‘people on boats’, but nearly all of us don’t want people drowning or genuine refugees being refused help.
Safe legal routes are the answers, there are already good solutions from experts who know what they are talking about. But the media and most MPs never talk of this.
The Cost of Living Crisis
This is also a massive issue, as many people even in full-time work often can’t afford to eat or pay the bills including rent and mortgage. Combined these can lead to homelessness.
But there are again solutions. From Basic Incomes (that would enable people to work part-time if they have other responsibilities, without losing benefits) to giving planning permission to local non-profit grocery stores that don’t use or need oil (for pesticides to transport), that would bring the price of food down.
Community solar panels could fund energy, and insulating all older homes would massively bring down energy bills, and also provide warm homes and provide skilled jobs for years to come.
The Climate Crisis
Most people care about the planet. And even those that don’t, are now seeing the results of supporting climate deniers like frequent floods, heatwaves and wildfires. The answer is not just ‘renewable energy’, it’s about creating communities that don’t need as much oil.
Walkable communities, organic food, better public transport to reduce car use, and local eco tourism incentives to reduce flying. Livestock farming is a huge cause of greenhouse gases, so focusing on local organic plant foods could do huge amounts of good, also for public health and animal welfare.
Safe Communities
England is safer than many countries, but we still have big issues from walking down the street, gun and knife crime, domestic abuse, stalking and terrorism.
There are many innovative ideas like designing-out-crime communities, addressing links between animal and human abuse, and knife amnesties (Scotland hardly has any knife crime, due to addressing issues a few years ago).
The NHS
With soaring costs, the answer is obviously in preventive health. Again walking communities, access to good organic plant-based foods (not ‘food deserts’ and out-of-town supermarkets selling cheap junk food).
GP appointments and bed-blocking are issues, but so is lack of vision by town planners – public parks and protecting nature for good physical, mental and spiritual health.
Trust in the Government
This is a major one. In Scandinavia, most people trust MPs (even of different parties). Scandals like the expense fiasco, lies, cheating and Boris Johnson, have all eroded trust. People don’t mind paying taxes, as long as they know they are being used to do good.
Most of the media just fawns over lying MPs (both here and from abroad) instead of genuinely having deep conversations about policy. Who is pitting a climate scientist against Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch. Who is asking Sir Keir Starmer why his government is selling arms to Israel?
Who questions all the main parties on why they are obsessed with economic growth, when progressive countries like Costa Rica and New Zealand instead focus on ‘happiness indexes’ that don’t put GDP as the main barometer of a country’s success?
Unfair Voting Causes Status Quo
If we want alternative politics, we need to have fair voting (like the Single Transferable Vote, which would mean the smaller parties would get a look-in). Not switching is government bullying, determined to keep the status quo of two or three main parties.
We also need fair media coverage. The Lib Dems have recently launched a Balance the BBC campaign, asking why outside of elections (when it’s the law to give equal coverage based on number of MPs) that the media follow every word of Reform UK, yet ignore the other smaller parties.
- GB News profiles climate denials, and non-stop praise for President Trump, who says ‘the UK has to be saved’.
- Green leader Zack Polanski was the only party leader not to be granted an in-depth interview in conference season, despite having more members than Lib Dems. The reason given was to focus on the terrorist attack in Manchester (yet Zack is Jewish and from Manchester?)
- The BBC hardly ever questions Israeli politicians (or UK MPs selling arms to Israel) on how the moeny is being used to drop bombs on aid workers and children’s hospitals in Gaza. That’s their job?
A recent survey by University of Exeter found that hardly any young people would vote Reform, few vote Conservative and Labour’s share has collapsed, due to the hash the new government has made of its massive majority. Lib Dems and Greens are faring much better.
