I like the idea of New Year's Resolutions, even though I don’t remember if I’ve made many and doubt that I’ve kept any. Ultimately, resolutions are like promises, when they are fulfilled they don’t preclude work, but they can imbue hope and signal things to come. Much like how this time of year often features personal resolutions, so too does politics often feature promises. One source of which are manifestos.
I would say a good manifesto should do two things; underline the problems of its time and propose solutions. Thus, in this time of resolutions and in this field of promises I give you my manifesto for a New Year.
Space demands I consider only a select few areas. The first being healthcare, pressure on which now feels like it may be becoming a perennial problem.
Taking some figures from NHS England itself; “72.1% of patients at A&E departments were admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours, which is below the NHS constitutional standard of 95%.” While, “As of the end of October, on the total waiting list there were 54 million waits for procedures and appointments and an estimated 6.34 million people waiting for care.” I hope it goes without saying that when I ask whether this is acceptable, I am being rhetorical.
Moving from healthcare, I am willing to wager that it is likely a rare occurrence for a society’s children to avoid many of the problems that its older members face. If you were to look at some of the charities flitting across my social media feed recently, this fact appears painfully apparent.
Save the Children feature a number of statistics on their website about Child Poverty in the UK, including one noting that “36% of children in the UK live in poverty.” In itself this is a damning figure, but it is only made more saddening when paired with the observation made by Barnardos that “A quarter of parents in Britain struggle to provide enough food for their children,” and Shelter’s statement that “In 2024, over 159,000 children didn’t have a home.”
Shifting to education, tes magazine, quoting Department for Education figures, reported that “Over 12 years, 40,438 state school teachers left within one year of qualifying” and opined that “it is well known that there is a crisis in teacher recruitment and retention.” Considering this, while there has been an increase in Initial Teacher Training recruitment, the picture of our school staff rooms is a grim one.
Finally, while discussing education, it would be wrong to neglect mentioning the matter of Special Educational Needs. The Prime Minister has said “SEND reform will be done ‘as urgently as possible’”; this cannot come soon enough. Especially, when we consider ITV’s report on the 25th July that “Over half of children (58%) with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) have had to take time out of school because their needs could not be met.”
Of course, this is only a snapshot of some of the issues facing the country and greater detail can always be given regarding the respective nations that form it. Likewise, I have not spoken of other countries or parts of the world, each of course deserving due care and attention, although I may not necessarily be best placed to provide it. Furthermore, not everything in the United Kingdom is entirely negative, with the Guardian having recently reported that the “Free school meals ‘auto-enrolment’ scheme has fed 20,000 more children.” However, given the challenges being faced by people I do not want to take up space sunning in optimism when there is so much work to do.
Turning to this manifesto’s second half, I would first like to reflect on Ronald Reagan, who said “I’ve always felt the nine most terrifying words of the English language are ‘I’m from the Government and I’m here to help.’ When you think about the problems people are facing in the UK today, I hope you agree that it is not those nine words that we need to fear. Instead, it is inaction and lack of commitment that should terrify us.
Much of the task of improving people’s lives will fall to the Government, but I believe there is also a role for individuals to play. In this regard, while I am fortunate to have never experienced many of the challenges that vast swathes of our society are facing today, I also feel fortunate to have been given a belief in tackling problems, resolving injustices and helping people. I am also lucky to have a job in politics that occasionally allows me to do so and a platform such as Europinion to share my thoughts in a way that I hope may aid our collective, even if only in contributing to discourse.
I do not claim to be, however, the only person who wants to help others. There are of course people across society playing their parts and do so in ways far better than I may well ever do. Nor do I claim to be the right person to help with every issue. My claim is only that I wish to work towards a better future. So many do this already, and I think it is time I made a written commitment to do the same.
So, that’s my manifesto for 2025. A reflection on some of our society’s problems and a personal commitment to contribute and play my part. I hope that in a year I can write of progress and of better times.
Image: Wikimedia Commons/Geograph (Christine Matthews)
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