I cannot be the only one who howled in pain as Theresa May announced a snap election despite months of saying this would not happen. But then again we are used to those who tell falsehoods getting what they want – remember the Brexit bus.
Nye Bevan’s comments about the Tories in 1948 are as true now as they were then: ‘so far as I am concerned they are lower than vermin’ (Guardian 4th July 1948).
I cannot be the only one who feels like going on a long hike without a map or a compass – just to keep walking and walking and put all of the Brexit rubble and Austerity debris far far behind me.
I cannot be the only one checking out my ancestors so that I can secure another passport to take me off this island. I cannot be the only one who has added up my Canada points or considered a little cottage in the Highlands.
Fortunately there are others out there who have dug deep and started to do something more positive. As Theresa May announced a snap election this week, the Progressive Alliance mobilised determined to fight the seemingly inevitable tide of Tory vermin scum.
The message is clear: Do whatever you can to block the Tories in this election. Use your vote to stop a Tory candidate. Vote for the party or candidate most likely to defeat them. If you vote tactically you can help to reduce the Tory majority. We can get something positive from this election. We need to get something positive from this election.
A vote for the Tories will send us towards a hard Brexit. It will also see the destruction of the NHS. There will be further attacks on the weakest members of our society as benefit cuts savage the lives of the sick and the disabled. The number of homeless people will rise again and yet more children will be plunged into poverty. I want a progressive society that protects the weaker members of society and allows us to move forward with equal opportunity to better our lives. I am tired of feeling that we are all just one step away from disaster. I want to be in a country that sees itself as part of the European whole where we work together to make the future of our children a little brighter than it is now. It is time to fight. We are the 48%. We are those that did not vote. We are those that want a say in where our country is going. We are those who want to build a secure future and not be led by those who lie and deceive us without shame. We are those that want to move forward and not allow ourselves to be taken backward into a mythical greater past by those who seek to deceive us.
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Let’s push back the tide of Tory vermin.
Here is a poem I wrote after the 2015 election when I felt the same grief I used to feel when Margaret Thatcher got re-elected (Hey Ho the Witches dead!)
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Two Metres from a Rat
Hey ho the witches dead They said As shy shadow rats skulked two metres away With teeth sharpened on broken promises
Labour aren’t any better They said As if voting for organically fed selectively-bred Eton chaps Was a prudent and sensible alternative
We can’t spend money we don’t have They said As they swallowed Daily Mail sewage hook line and kitchen sinker Believing that sponge cake was only for those who earned it
Our small island is rather crowded They said As they used Brexit to vent their frustration on those That don’t look or behave quite like them
Work is good for everyone They said As the sick, the disabled and any other poor bugger Got stamped on by a bald guy with a double-barrelled surname
A fair society for hardworking families They said As if it’s only those who don’t work hard enough That clutch vouchers at food banks
People shouldn’t live in places they can’t afford They said As they avoid the eyes of individuals sampling al fresco living While the second homes of those that deserve them stand empty
We are all in this together They said As austerity took its bite from tender rumps And ripped back safety nets to reveal concrete floors
It’s only politics They said As I snarled that once again because of them We are infested by Tory vermin scum
Please don’t let this happen again. We can push back the tide of despair that threatens to engulf us. Think positive. Look forwards. Join the Progressive Alliance. Use your vote for something good.
Julia Notaro 