Brexit ruind Britn’z aṗtît fr reṿluśn. Ɖt mcs Starmr’z job hardr
(Transcription of a Guardian article of 24 May 2023)
It’s nt jst ɖ NHS ẃr Lebr fesz an uphil strugl. Ɖ parti hz lost its wilñnis t cnfrunt dificlt ćôsz
Rafel Behr, Wnzde 24 Me 2023
Bfr adminisṭrñ eni penfl pṛsijr, doctrz tōc t ɖer peśnts wɖ a cerfl baḷns v candr n tact. Tù grafic a wornñ mt trigr rfyzl t cooṗret, bt pritndñ smʈñ w’nt hrt z a btreyl v trust.
Poḷtiśnz fes ɖ sem dlema wɖ penfl rformz. Spīc tù francli n y spūc ɖ ilectṛt. Dnî ɖ scel v a tasc n y hv no mandet. Ɖs z ispeṣ́li trici fr opziśnlīdrz hu wont votrz t fīl upbìt abt ɖ fyćr undr a ćenjd reźīm. Iṭmîzñ pen cilz ɖ búz.
“Ɖ NHS z nt ssteṇbl unls w mc sirịs, dīp, loñ-trm ćenjz,” Cir Starmr sd on Munde, trayñ t sǎnd candid. It wl b “hard”, “dificlt” n “ćaḷnjñ”, bt wrʈ it t rīć ɖ gol v a hlʈsrvis “fit fr ɖ fyćr”.
On cost, h wz tactfl. Dsiźnz wl b md “on a fl aprīśieśn v riaḷti – on ɖ stet v ɖ NHS n ǎr public fînansz”. In uɖr wrdz, Dr Starmr sz trî t rlax bt b priperd fr sm fiscl dscumḟt.
Lebr’z plejz r wrɖi n xpnsiv – rdyst wêtñtîmz; intgreśn v hlʈ n sośl cer; a dijitl upgred v ɖ hol srvis. Nemd reṿny sorsz – VAT on prîṿt-scūl fiz; clozñ non-Dóm tax lūphoulz – cuvr onli a frax́n v ɖ lîcli bil. Ɖoz r sticñplastrz, ẃć z ẃt ɖ opziśn līdr akzz Riśi Sūnac v aplayñ in avôdns v longr-trm s’luśnz.
It z snṣbl fr a parti t avôd tù mć dītel abt its maṇfesto ɖs far ǎt fṛm an ilex́n. Ẃ gv ɖ eṇmi tîm t rêd yr bst îdīaz n traś ɖ rest? Ẃn it cmz t ōcẉd truɖz in a campen, ɖ vrću v telñ it stret rerli ǎtweiz ɖ risc v mcñ a nrṿs ilectṛt flinć fṛm yr tuć.
Ɖ cōśnri têl z T’rīza Me’z dsiźn t cnfrunt ɖ cost v sośl cer in hr 2017 ilex́nmaṇfesto. Ś ʈt ś hd a sfiśnt pouļīd t sīc pmiśn t d smʈñ hard. It lct brev fr ol v a fy minits, untl ɖ poḷsi wz cōld a “dmnṣ́tax” n fîrd bac az a torpīdo intu hr campen.
Dmocṛsi hz olwz involvd sm tnśn btwn oṇsti n seilzmnśp, bt it fīlz svir rît nǎ. Part v ɖ probḷm z śir xōsćn aftr yirz v s’xesiv crîsīz, sm viẓtd on Britn fṛm oṿsìz (Covid; wor in Ycren), uɖrz homgroun (Brexit; Liz Trus). Ɖe hv cascedd acrs wn anɖr, mrjñ intu a mrāl-sapñ prṃcrîsis.
Solvñ dificlt probḷmz z an x’sîz in dfŕd gratiḟceśn. Ɖr z an inpŭt v eṇji n rzorsz ɖt dz’nt yīld imīɉt rword. Ẃn poḷtiśnz spīc v rform t upgred public srṿsz, fr xampl, ɖe r plīdñ fr peśns. Ɖt ascs a lot v ppl hu hv bn loct dǎn fr a pandemic, hd ɖer oṗreśnz dleid n ɖer trenz cansld, ɖen sìn ɖer stagnnt wejz gobld bî infleśn. Ɖ past fy yirz hv pt Britiś votrz in ɖ mūd fr pêbac, nt mor sacṛfîs.
Ɖs z olso ẃ Starmr’z dlema z most akt on ɖ qsćn v Yṛp. Opińnpoulz śo a mjoṛti ʈncñ Brexit wz a mstec (n īvn Nîjl F’rāź sz it z’nt wrcñ), bt ɖt dz’nt nesseṛli trnzlet intu an aṗtît fr riinactñ ɖ batlz fòt sins 2016 in rvrs.
Eni campen t g bac intu ɖ YY mst rec̣gnîz ɖt ɖ old membrśp trmz r no longr aveḷbl. Ǎr conṭnntl nebrz wd wont t si sstend cros-parti pro-Yṛpiyn cnsnss bfr tecñ eni Britiś apḷceśn sirịsli. Rījôn z nt rīwînd. It z ɖ wrc v a jeṇreśn.
Ɖ poḷtics v śuḟlñ closr t Yṛp fṛm ɖ ǎtsd r nt mć īzịr. Propr axes t ɖ sngl marcit z ɖ ic̣nomic gemćenjr. Ɖt riopnz arğmnts abt fri muvmnt (or opn-dor iṃgreśnpoḷsi, az ɖ Toriz wd cast it) n tecñ reğletri dicteśn fṛm Bruslz – ɖ iśuz ɖt poḷrîzd dbet in ɖ frst ples.
Tōc v soḟnñ ɖ blo fṛm Brexit tndz lojicli t axptns ɖt ɖ bst Brexit z nn at ol. Wn tst v ẃɖr Starmr z rît t swrv awe fṛm ɖt rod z t pondr hǎ glad mni incumbnt Cnsrṿtiv MPz wd b f h tc it.
It sūts Lebr t cīp Brexit in ɖ bacgrǎnd, az wn mor ʈñ ɖ Toriz mest p. It z a sgnificnt factr in jenṛl ic̣nomic mleiz n a breic on rcuṿri, bt nt ɖ onli wn.
Ɖ ifct on poḷtics z hardr t qonṭfî, n mor pniśs. Ɖ harm floz fṛm contṛdix́nz in a project ɖt wz jenyinli reṿluśnri n sinicli frōdyḷnt at ɖ sem tîm. Brexit maind jusṭfaid angr wɖ a steṭs qo ɖt wz’nt wrcñ, ɖen yzd ɖt rzors t fyl a project fr impoṿriśñ ɖ ppl hu most rjntli nīdd ćenj.
Ɖt dspśn set a ʈreśhold v calkletd dsoṇsti or dǎnrît stypidti fr miṇstirịl ofis. Enwn wilñ or ebl t ingej wɖ ɖ cmplex̣tiz v Britn’z pridic̣mnt in ɖ ʈrd deced v ɖ 21st snć̣ri wz dsqoḷfaid fṛm jônñ Boris Jonsn’z cabiṇt. Ɖoz pvrs rcrūtmntcrîtiria stl stand. Sūnac pást ɖ tst v îdịlojicl styṗfax́n.
Mcñ a naśnl miśn v a foli brnt p iriplesbl rzrvz v p’liticl eṇji. Ppl hu oṗret ɖ mśīṇri v guvnmnt r dmoṛlîzd bî rqsts t stir intu dićz. Votrz hu wr gvn rīzn t xpct gret ʈñz on liḅreśn fṛm Bruslz, n got nʈñ, wl b wẹrịr v invstñ hop in a difṛnt, Lebr-brandd project fr radicl uphivl.
Dplitd wilñnis t cnfrunt hard ćôsz z a Brexit leġsi ɖt impidz Starmr īvn mor ɖn ɖ ic̣nomic cost. H cn tōc abt NHS rform, grīn invstmnt, ambiśs hǎsbildñtargits, ol wɖt gtñ lurd intu ɖ wīdz v Yṛpiyn rīṇgośieśn. H cn se, c’recli, ɖt h z foc̣sñ on ppl’z acćl prîoṛtiz. H cn daygnoz grev probḷmz n priscrîb s’luśnz in mni eriaz, stirñ tactḟli awe fṛm ɖ hardist iśu.
Bt ẃn it cmz t dliṿrñ on ɖoz proṃsz, h wl fînd ɖ bodipoḷtic scard n wìcnd bî ɖ yirz v Brexit malpractis. A simtm v hǎ dīp ɖ sindrom gz z ɖ opziśn līdr’z rluctns t cōl it bî its nem.
