Ministers in the
Labour government have rightly condemned those who have been whipping up hatred
against migrants in general and refugees and asylum-seekers in particular, especially
on social media, but they seem to be completely blind to the effect that their
own words and deeds are having. Their own words may not be as blunt and direct,
but that simply makes them all the more insidious.
I cannot be alone in
having noticed a recent increase in the number of memes circulating drawing
comparisons between the cut to the winter fuel allowance or the failure to
remove the two-child benefit cap on the one hand, and paying for food and
accommodation for migrants on the other. It’s a silly comparison to make, of
course; an economy like that of the UK can easily do both. But the government
has made a deliberate choice not to do both, and in its insistence on the
nonsensical household analogy for government debt has effectively encouraged
people to believe that doing one thing necessarily prevents them doing another,
because of a ‘lack of money’.
Cutting the state
pension by at least 2.5% for most pensioners (which is the effect of the change
to the winter fuel allowance) is a deliberate political choice. Keeping 300,000
children in poverty for at least a few months longer (which is the effect of failing
to scrap the 2 child benefit cap, even if they change it in the budget) is
another deliberate political choice. They weren’t forced to do either, but have
chosen to do both because of a blind adherence to a fiscal rule based on Tory
ideology about the size of the state and the protection of private wealth. But
if you tell people often enough that the old and the young must suffer because
of a non-existent ‘lack of money’, it should hardly be a surprise if some
people draw comparisons with other items of expenditure and suggest cutting
those instead. The result is that Labour’s dishonesty over government finances
makes them as guilty as others of inflaming attitudes towards desperate people
seeking a better life for themselves and their families. It doesn’t excuse the attacks
on hotels, mosques, businesses or individuals – nothing can excuse that – but the
false claim that the government ‘has no choice’ is an active encouragement to
people to put the blame elsewhere. It turns out that divide and rule is an
approach to government which isn’t ended by throwing out the Tories.
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