We need a way out of the current stagnant status quo
COMMENT: We need radical and determined thinking from our political leaders in 2023, the kind of determination that is not just for Veganuary
Thursday, 5th January 2023
‘Meaningful change to these problems is going to take some radical and determined thinking from our political leaders’
WE hope you have, so far at least, stuck to your New Year’s resolutions.
The first week of January traditionally nurtures high hopes of change.
Is the yoga mat still out, or has it been rolled-up and put back in the cupboard?
Are you still swapping those nitrate-infused meats for stuffed aubergine and chickpea salads?
Still walking or cycling to work, or back on the bus? Still supping smoothies?
However futile we think it may turn out to be, most people like to think they are capable of improving themselves and leading healthier and more productive lives.
But it’s not easy taking an alternative path. It takes courage and commitment to make meaningful change.
And while January brings with it an however-brief spurt of optimism, there is also a palpable sense of dread of what might be coming around the corner. Particularly given what recent years have brought us.
From the mind-numbing Brexit debate, the Covid pandemic and the lockdowns, the invasion of Ukraine and the savage increases in energy bills and supermarket prices.
What fresh horrors lie around the corner in 2023?
We do not have artificial intelligence bots to predict the future, yet, but even without cutting edge tech it is easy to make an educated guess.
Will this be the year the goodwill propping up the NHS finally collapses? The utter madness inside hospitals at the moment has become a societal norm, not just for Christmas.
More people will be made homeless and there will be more deaths of our neighbours on the streets.
More damp and mould creeping into our homes.
More cuts to public services.
More government cash trousered by company directors with friends in high places.
More historic Camden schools shut down as parents pack-up and leave London in search of affordable homes.
More extreme temperatures.
More flooded basements and sun-scorched parks.
More laws and harsher punishments.
More algorithms and artificial intelligence sucking the soul out of what it means to be human.
More loneliness and isolation. Perhaps even another pandemic?
This doesn’t sound like the kind of world many would want.
And yet this is the status quo that our main political parties appear so determined to sustain.
Meaningful change to these problems is going to take some radical and determined thinking from our political leaders. The kind of determination that is not just for Veganuary.
The question for 2023 is, are any of them up to it?
