Politicians fiddle as Britain burns

The two main parties are now so similar they can’t give us any answers, argues phillip blond

Something is seriously wrong with British politics. Our two main parties are offering essentially the same policies and the electorate is asked to choose based on personality and spin. If the Labour party has just nicked the Conservatives' tax plans,
while at the same time the Tories have pledged to abide by Labour’s future spending plans, what difference does voting make?

Both parties have the same vision and ideology, with the opposition claiming only that it will be more competent. No wonder the ordinary citizen's interest in politics and faith in politicians are nose-diving.

This repressive consensus is highly damaging. It has destroyed the traditions of both political parties and left Britain unable to tackle the problems that confront it. From dirty hospitals to dangerous teenagers, we appear incapable of resolving problems and creating a better communal life.

The Tories conserve nothing, eschewing traditions and institutions in the name of modernisation and the market

The radical insights of both Left and Right have been lost. The Tories conserve nothing, eschewing traditions and institutions in the name of modernisation and the market place, while Labour has abandoned the poor and embraced the needs of the moneyed classes.

As a result, an enormously powerful state bureaucracy supports capitalism and the free market over the interests of its citizens. As such, we are experiencing the worst of the Left and the worst of the Right; we have an overtaxing, illiberal and dictatorial state that serves only the interests of the rich and well-connected. The result of this consensus is the disempowerment of ordinary people.

In Europe, ordinary people still have a society; their trade unions and civic associations still exist, and regional and local
government exercise real power. In Britain, however, we now have a flat society where there is only the central market state and each individual is unable to affect their family, workplace or local environment. We have lost our civic institutions and the means to shape our own society. All our working-class