A chance to reevaluate the priorities – and get out there and vote

By Jeremy Corbyn MP / @JeremyCorbyn

Wednesday’s Prime Minister’s Question time saw a packed house. It was very noisy and, for some, sad – their last time in Parliament. The predictable Brown-Cameron clash was over National Insurance. David Cameron trotted out an interminable list of obscure names who apparently run very big businesses and are against any tax rises. No surprises there. Gordon Brown in response accused the Tories of putting the economy, recovery, jobs and services at risk by underfunding them. He then expressed his pride over the bank nationalisation and recovery package of 2008, adding that the Tories had opposed it and would take us back to Thatcher-style cuts and unemployment if allowed. The government could use its ownership of most of the banks as a tool to guide the economy, protect jobs and services and provide hope for young people who are increasingly vulnerable in a recession.

However, if the logic of the statements by Alistair Darling and the Fiscal Responsibility Act are followed, then whoever wins the election two things will happen – the bank shares will be progressively sold off and the unaccountable holding company will act like any other holding company and allow the banks to operate as they wish. The enforced debt-reduction timetable is a millstone for the next four years with a requirement to reduce the debt enshrined in law. Indeed, this is in line with what the European Central Bank is requiring of the eurozone countries.

As the Morning Star has frequently reported, the events in Greece and Portugal are an indication of just what happens when monetarist fanatics impose their will on the economy. Cuts in public spending, rising unemployment and rising social stress become the order of the day.

The general election ought to be a debate about the structure of our economy and the way in which public expenditure can bring about social justice and ensure full employment. The Tory ideas of “choice” in health and education are nothing more than a smokescreen for widescale cutbacks and privatisation as those with sufficient money buy their way into private healthcare and private education. It was the labour movement from the 19th century onwards that campaigned for and achieved the welfare state, the NHS and council housing.

Since the crisis of 2008 there are some signs that the Labour leadership is trying to distance itself from new Labour free-market ideas. Its manifesto has not yet been published, but I hope it makes clear the traditional Labour commitments to full employment and genuine social security in our society.

However, there are going to be enormous battles over union rights, protection of pension schemes and the need to ensure there is a direct link between pensions and earnings. As parliament winds down, one can look back on the past five years for the obscenity of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and more recently the expenses scandal leading to increased questioning of the whole role of Parliament. The parliamentary reforms that have been forced through in the past couple of months provide backbench MPs with more opportunities and more powers and also restore their function which is essentially to hold the executive to account. A properly accountable House of Commons ought to be forced to take responsibility for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and nuclear weapons.

Elections are important, as is participation in them. The media obsession with X-Factor politics and opinion polling rather than serious debates is harmful to democracy. Parliament is not a solution to all problems in itself, but it is up to all those people who campaign for economic and social justice to use the election period to put pressure and demands on the candidates to tackle British inequality, poverty and our contribution towards global insecurity. That is what elections are for.

Most people reading this will be registered to vote, but to be sure, check with your Electoral Registration Officer via aboutmyvote.co.uk. The deadline for registering to vote is 11 working days before an election. If you’re not going to be around, organise a vote by proxy or by post. Either way, just do it. Voting is a must.

To not vote is to do nothing and to abandon any respect for the long, hard struggles so many had in order to win the right. It’s the way our democracy functions, despite its imperfections. Get to it – and make your vote count.

This article was also published in the Morning Star.