General Election 2019:: Post #11: Call me a poor loser but........................

Martin Rowson: Guardian: 14th December 2019

Well, that didn't turn out quite the way I would have liked. We’ve lost. Brexit is going to happen and we'll have to live with it. We are now in for a long period of uncertainty and, as we can’t escape from that, we must do the best we can. As Jezza said, it's a time for reflection and I'll be doing just that before giving my views on the Labour position. In the meantime a few words(based on a 'round robin' that someone sent me) to those who voted Tory.

Congratulations on getting your chosen party into power, despite all the damage they have done to this country over the past nine years. Of course, it's your right to vote as you did and I support that. But, exercising that freedom comes with responsibilities and consequences. Even more, it makes you culpable in what comes next. Just to let you know that I hold you – individually and collectively – responsible:

•  For every failure to take meaningful action to protect the climate and tackle the climate emergency;

•  For every fracking licence granted and wind turbine refused;

•  For every overworked doctor and nurse;

•  For every patient – child or adult – forced to lie on a hospital floor awaiting treatment;

•  For every patient denied treatment due to cuts;

•  For every delayed operation;

•  For every piece of the NHS and public asset sold to the private sector;

•  For every overworked, overstressed teacher and every overcrowded classroom;

•  For every person and family forced into the humiliation of using a food bank;

•  For every person that goes cold or hungry because they cannot afford both food and heating;

•  For every sick or disabled person deemed fit for work and denied the support and benefits they need;

•  For every mentally ill person unable to access the treatment and support they need;

•  For every homeless person;

•  For every redundancy that comes through Brexit;

•  For every job seeker viciously sanctioned;

•  For the loss of each and every right and freedom the Government revokes as we leave the EU;

•  For yet more children, growing up without opportunity or hope;

•  For every pound lost to the public purse in tax avoidance and tax cuts for the richest;

•  For turning tolerant, outward-looking Great Britain into squalid, xenophobic Little England.

I couldn't care a toss about the reasons you had for voting as you did. Do not dare try to blame the opposition for not being ‘good enough’. Do not dare claim that you were misled or did know what would happen. The precedent and the information were there, had you had chosen to look and listen to more than the right-wing press, Tory propaganda and the crap that came through your social media feeds. You have the right to vote and with that comes the duty to inform yourselves and to think about your choice. Only you are responsible for the X you placed. Accept that responsibility for it leads to.

I sincerely hope that I’m wrong. Perhaps the Great Tousled Leader will undergo some Damascene moment of conversion and really will govern for the good of the country as a whole, caring for the poorest and most needy, rather than just his wealthy friends and backers. Perhaps, perhaps. But I am not hopeful.

However, if in twelve months we have a well-funded NHS and public services, action on climate change, our rights and economy protected, a Brexit deal that does not wreck the economy and fracture the country, then I will humbly offer my heartfelt apology for my criticism of your voting choice. Watch this space for my Xmas 2020 post.

I'll end with a quote that seems very apposite. It was made by Richard Tuck and comes from his concession speech following his loss in the 1966 California State Senate election: “The people have spoken, the bastards.”