HELLO.

On Tuesday April 18th, in a statement outside Number 10 Downing Street Prime Minister Theresa May called for a snap General Election on June 8, going back on repeated promises not to.

 

Whilst Theresa May going back on her word shouldn’t come as a shock, this announcement blindsided many. May had explicitly stated on numerous occasions that there would be no election. Even just a few weeks prior to her announcement on April 18th, May’s spokesperson said: “There isn’t going to be one. It isn’t going to happen. There is not going to be a general election.” The only thing that is certain in the case of Theresa May is a pattern of dishonesty and inconsistency. 

 

It should never be a mistake to trust your prime minister to speak truthfully, however, in May’s Britain, this is now commonplace. It should come as a shock that an event our prime minister promised wouldn’t materialise, is now happening by her hand. However, in Britain’s current political landscape, it comes as less of a shock each time May goes back on her word; it’s almost expected. If May going back on her word did come as a shock to you, it really shouldn’t have. 

 

Please let me draw your attention to the fact that May was the remainer who reinvented herself as a hard Brexiteer, for partisan self-interest. May was the leader who allowed her chancellor to break a key Tory election pledge on national insurance, only to U-turn when the betrayal became impossible to argue for because of her small majority. She also said that now wasn’t the time for a Scottish independence referendum because of the instability it would cause, and then motioned for an unnecessary general election. She announced a pause on the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station and then – under pressure from China’s regime – U-turned. This is a woman of unashamed partisan self-interest. This is not the leader we want or need. We need a selfless, relentlessly hard working leader who will not bow to pressure from fellow high powers, who will not get into bed with the Rupert Murdoch’s of the world. 

 

This, we can find in Jeremy Corbyn. 

 

Corbyn is a exceptionally hard working MP who passionately fights to protect the poor and vulnerable, seeks to protect the NHS, wants to nationalise natural monopolies and take back publicly financed utilities that were sold off to investors at a pittance, aims to stem the flow of capital from the poor to the rich, and campaigns tirelessly to seek diplomacy over war. Perhaps most threatening of all about Corbyn is he wants to stop corporate tax breaks, close down overseas tax avoidance, and stamp out wage inequality. This makes him hugely unpopular with the wealthy elite.

 

You may think ‘this all sounds great, why does he get so much bad press?’ - because he represents the biggest threat to the right wing ideology and stability of the super rich – the same people who own our national media a.k.a. the likes Rupert Murdoch (owner of the Sun, Sun on Sunday and is the man behind Fox News, BSkyB, News Corp, etc.), and Lord Rothermere (owner of the Mail, Mail on Sunday, and the Metro). Both live abroad with their billions, and would stand to lose out if Corbyn were to be elected. 

 

Their defence is a Corbyn smear campaign. Manipulate how the public sees the threat via mass media, and their voting behaviour will follow suit. Don’t let the pieces fall so easily into place for these people, don’t allow yourself and those around you to be manipulated to serve the interests of the 1%. When you read, read critically and with awareness of potential agendas behind the words. 

 

A perfect example of right-wing press manipulation of Corbyn's image was reflected when the Labour leader turned down tickets to the opening game of the Rugby World Cup in 2015. The press and high profile MPs alike slaughtered him. The press claimed he had ‘snubbed’ the invite to the opening ceremony. Boris Johnson was quoted saying “This is turning into a national joke…Come on Jezza: Scrum down for England.”

 

What wasn’t widely reported was that Corbyn had prior commitments, ‘scrumming down’ to meet with his constituents, the people he was elected to represent and serve. He sat down for a private meeting with one of his homeless constituents to listen to her issues, as well as a full to the brim waiting room of others who had turned up to his weekly constituency meeting. So, whilst other politicians were quaffing down the free hospitality in the premier VIP seats, Corbyn was doing what the public elected him, and pay him to do.

 

A London School of Economics study into how Corbyn is represented in the media found that only a pathetic 11% of all newspaper articles about him bothered to accurately state a single one of his actual policies. In the hard-wing Daily Mail and Express that figure was 0%.

 

The responsibility for actioning the change in direction for this country does not lie upon your shoulders - that is for Corbyn and his team. Your responsibility is allowing these changes to be set into motion. In short, your only responsibility here is to vote. It is your greatest weapon against a hard Brexit, a dishonest Theresa May, and a self-serving government. If you want a government which fights for a Brexit deal that puts jobs, the economy and living standards first; and stand for a Britain run in the interests of the majority, not the elites, then you know what to do. 

 

What does this snap election mean?

 

It means we as an eligible electorate have a sacred opportunity to alter the future of our country, of ourselves, that we should - under no circumstances - waste. It means a chance to oust an untrustworthy, lying partisan concerned only with serving herself rather than the country she leads, from the helm of Great Britain. It means we can change the path we’re currently on. All we have to do, at the bare minimum, is vote. The eligibility to do so is your human right, but you can only do so after you register. Over 100,000 under 25s had registered just days after the election was announced and you must become one of that growing number. 

 

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You can register online, taking only 5 minutes of your time, at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.

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Don’t put this on your mounting to-do list for ‘tomorrow’, do it now !!!!!!

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