Freezing This Christmas

by Rab Bruce’s Spider

 

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I couldn’t help laughing when I heard the news that a spoof song has reached Number 1 in the UK charts. The original “Lonely This Christmas” by Mud was a hit way back in the 1970s and I never did like it. However, the parody version, “Freezing This Christmas” is spot on both in terms of copying the original and in making some powerful political statements about the abolition of the Winter fuel Payments for pensioners.

 

I can’t help thinking that this song’s elevation to top of the chart may be down to Labour’s political opponents spending time and money on downloads, but it could equally be a public backlash against what is seen by many as an unnecessarily cruel attack on some of the most vulnerable people in society. After all, we’ve all had grandparents, and we know that many elderly people are struggling to heat their homes. Don’t be distracted by the claims of some in the media who bang on about wealthy pensioners who don’t need the extra cash. In comparison with the number who do need the money, the wealthier pensioners are a minority. It’s just that many of them either work in the media themselves, or are related to journalists & presenters, so they are disproportionately represented on our screens and in print.

 

That aside, this allegedly essential cut to pensioner’s benefits has proved immensely unpopular with most of the public. The question now is whether Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves will dig in their heels and try to see it through. They may decide to persist with their assertions that the UK’s pensioners will be better off come April, although that does leave them open to the accusation that many older people won’t make it that far. And if there is an increase in the number of winter deaths among the elderly, you can be sure that some people will attribute that to the cut in Winter Fuel Payments. Could Labour recover from a blow like that? Maybe they could, but I think they’ll already be looking for a way to reverse this cut somehow. I think that, at some point soon, Rachel Reeves is going to suddenly discover that she has more funds available than previously declared, and that she will reinstate the WFP next winter. I may be wrong about that, but if I am, then Labour are going to need to pull some rabbits out of hats to reverse the poor impression their cut has created.

 

What might hamper any such announcement is the news agenda about job losses and businesses claiming poverty because of the increase in Employers’ National Insurance. There is no doubt that this increase will hit some small businesses and charitable organisations hard, but I think a lot of the bleating from larger companies is more about political point-scoring. In their drive to maintain profits, unscrupulous employers will have no qualms about laying staff off, then pointing the finger at the Government. Again, this is a problem of Labour’s own making. They ignored warnings about the so-called financial black hole, and stuck to their promises of no tax rises for employees. Rather than go back on that pledge, and unwilling to abandon artificially created Tory fiscal rules, they put all the burden onto employers. Naturally, going back on election promises so soon after being elected would have looked bad, but what they have done to avoid that issue has made them look bad anyway. And let’s not forget that Keir Starmer has a long track record of going back on his promises, so breaking the one about tax rises would probably have created less of a stir than stubbornly refusing to budge.

 

It seems more people are waking up to the fact that Keir Starmer is not a very good politician. He seems to be unable to think on his feet, sticking doggedly to scripts. Rachel Reeves’ performance as Chancellor hasn’t been too impressive either, with Richard J Murphy having produced several excellent videos and blog posts highlighting her mistakes.

 

As for the solution, it will take more than these unpopular blunders to bring down the Labour Government, and the alternatives look even worse, with Reform probably benefitting most from public disenchantment and disillusion with mainstream politics. In fairness, it’s hard to blame voters for wanting some radical change; it’s just a pity that the media are pushing their opinions towards right-leaning, rather than left-leaning, radicalism. The old saying about turkeys and Christmas springs to mind.

 

So the future looks bleak however you regard it. Scotland at least has one way of avoiding this series of calamitous Governments. As always, the big question is how we achieve that goal, and whether the SNP have the gumption and leadership to take us towards it. At the moment, I remain unconvinced, but there can be no doubt that if Labour continue to pursue highly unpopular policies, support for Yes will only increase further.

 

In the meantime, here’s hoping you all manage to stay warm this Christmas & New Year.