From the Frying Pan into the Fire

From the Frying Pan into the Fire

Rishi Sunak?surprised all the political pundits and has chosen for a summer election rather than wait for the Autumn. On a wet Wednesday afternoon, the 22nd May, our beleaguered PM confirmed in an address to the nation that the next general election will be held on the 4th of July (for those in the know - 4th of July is America's Independence Day and may be he thinks it is a good omen). But is a summer election a wise decision? It has taken most of the cabinet and the Tory party by surprise - and for many it’s a nasty surprise. For the cynics "he is opting for an early election because he has run out of steam". Calling a general election when your party is over 20 points behind in the polls is at best a brave move, but the risk is that its seen as though Rishi is giving up - rather than fighting on.

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I have been a critique of Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives for a while now. Very little has changed since first Brexit and then Covid, both major events that could have been used by the Conservative party to show that they really do mean business. They have talked and promised the world but delivered very little particularly when it comes to our economy and our public services - and as such they have upset / lost / disenfranchised many of their loyal voters like me. After 14 years in opposition, Keir Starmer and his Labour Party are on the verge of taking over the UK Parliament and leading the nation again. Many political analysts will say there is very little difference between the Conservatives and the Labour party - and I don’t think they are wrong. We have never really recovered from Brexit and Covid, the Tories at best have been inept at managing the nations' affairs and deserve to be out of power. What we really need is a total top to bottom radical re-think of how our politicians are elected and how our nation is governed. We need a complete overhaul of our public and social services - many of which were set up as temporary safety nets for those that found themselves in difficult positions but are now merely used by millions as lifestyle choices. Our NHS is not fit for purpose, and we are still led to believe that it’s the best in the world - the reality is that we are paying 1st world costs for a service comparable with many third world countries. Immigration continues to be a major political hot potato - we have been unable to stop the boats, nor have we been able to control our borders. Devolution has been an expensive experiment and has failed to deliver on its levelling up agenda and many think it may eventually lead to a break up of the United Kingdom. We contribute less than 1% towards global greenhouse gas emissions - yet we want to be seen as a global leader in nett zero policies. Our infrastructure needs massive investments - our essential services like gas, electricity, water, communications, and rail services should never have been sold off to private companies. Keir Starmer's Labour Party offers nothing new - and will be very much more of the same and "business as usual". A vote away from the major two simply seems a lost vote as unfortunately our democratic systems are such that we will only ever have a 2-horse race for power. As a nation we have so much potential - yet for many like me, the only real choice we have is to either stay in the frying pan or jump into the fire!?

Amarjit Singh

Chairman - YABA

The views expressed in this intro are those of the Chairman of the Yorkshire Asian Business Association writing in their individual capacity only and not those of the stakeholders of the organisation.

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