There have been a number of consultations and reports produced this year that actually require long-term planning and commitment. Most may not get any further than being published. The reason? Because they are mainly concerned with money and fear of the future. Consequently, its about big tests for British politics.
These tests suggest our system is failing. These issues are long-term, arouse strong (sometimes misguided) passions and can easily be derailed by our legislative assemblies. They are the big choices that all political parties tend to duck then duck again.
Most politics benefits from a good open debate, even a row now and again. But, you can’t fix the care system, secure the right energy balance, shift investment to greener, more environmentally sustainable industry or introduce high speed rail links just by passing a piece of legislation and returning to party dogfights when an election looms.
You have to agree the change and stick with it for decades – think of the welfare state after the 1939-45 war.
Our political system is broken, good ideas get turned to mush, special interest groups stop change happening. Meantime the poor get poorer and the planet burns and the main political parties are stuck on the business as usual agenda of debt driven growth.
There needs to be cross-party long term agreements on these issues that won’t change from election to election. No real change in tax to clamp down on inequality or boost low carbon growth can happen without this.
Some of the recent reports can be found in this list of links below:
Christie Commission, Dilnot Commission, Electricity Market Reform and Scottish Executive Response, High Speed Rail.
