Quick thoughts on the upcoming UK Election

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it elsewhere on my blog yet, but I’ve been a British citizen for as long as I can remember. Well, since birth actually. I don’t live in the UK right now though – I moved to Canada about 10 years ago and currently live there with my wife and children. With that being said, I still have a keen interest in UK politics and how things are run – heck, I even used to run a political blog when I was in university. My motivation in keeping in the loop after all these years is simple – my kids will have the right to live and work there as they get older and it would be super cool if the country wasn’t in the middle of falling apart still. As a result, I have some thoughts on the upcoming UK Election.

2010 was when I got my first real experience of a General Election. The incumbent Labour Party had been in power since their landslide victory of 1997 and it felt as though the UK was probably looking to make a change. There was a whole recession and people naturally put blame at the hands of those in charge. So change they did – the ruling Labour Party fell from grace and became the official opposition with the Conservative party ending up leading a coalition government with their political opposites, the Liberal Democrats before going on to win successive elections as a majority government. I won’t bore you with the specific details of the next 14 years of Conservative rule, but needless to say, it hasn’t gone particularly well. In fact, the Conservatives are currently on their fifth Prime Minister in 14 years, have been caught partying during the covid lockdowns, crashed the UK economy, have won the title for shortest tenure as PM and of course managed to botch their own EU referendum so badly that they lost. I could go on, but I won’t.

Anyway, I’m rambling. The point is, there’s an election coming. July 4th, to be specific. If you’re eligible to vote, you totally should. This is your opportunity to stand up and be counted, and once again ask for change. Change from a government that only cares about making the rich richer while the poor get poorer. Change from a government that has brought the NHS to it’s knees.

The Labour Party are, to be frank, the only viable alternative. They have (contrary to Rishi Sunak’s insistence) a plan. They aren’t making grand promises that they might not be able to deliver. They’re starting small with things that they know that they can achieve – and frankly, that’s refreshing. In fact, they’ve been super transparent on what they consider their first steps to be:

• Deliver economic stability
• Cut NHS waiting times (which reached their peak under the current government)
• Launch a new Border Security command
• Set up Great British Energy
• Crack down on antisocial behaviour
• Recruit 6,500 new teachers

Please take the time to read through their manifesto. Please inform yourself. Please, vote for change on July 4th and help to get Britain back on it’s feet.

On behalf of myself and my children, thank you.

Updated July 5th 2024: I just wanted to update this post to acknowledge the historic victory of Sir Kier Starmers Labour Party in the UK general election – winning with a landslide of 411 seats (having needed only 326 for a majority). I look forward to seeing how this newly elected Government works to resolve the UK’s greatest challenges with great interest. For anyone who might find it interesting, I’ve also written my thoughts about some of the quirks of the UK election system.