Words come too easily in British politics and we are sick of listening - Christa Ackroyd

Walking alongside me was a man in his twenties. A lovely young man who strolled along the lane and asked me what I was listening to. His response when I told him was: “More words. I don’t believe any of them any more.” And that my friends is when you know that this country is in a mess, when politicians are using words that if you took away the colour of their rosette would all sound pretty similar. Promises, promises, promises. Sound bite after sound bite. Words are easy. It is putting them into practice that is the true test.

Last week at the local elections we lost some dedicated councillors of many years standing. People I know personally who had made a difference to their communities. People of all political persuasions. And while I am the first to stand up for democracy in action I am certain that our communities lost a lot of good people who did not deserve to go. But I entirely understand why they did. Too many words, not enough actions and not listening to what the country cares or is concerned about.

As I write this column Keir Starmer was fighting for his political life after the disastrous local elections which threaten the future of his party. He kept going on about serving ‘working people’. As he should, but all working people, from the entrepreneur to the teenager starting his first job to those in between. He shouldn’t expect to make it more difficult for one and easier for others and still have the growth this country needs to get out of the mess we are undoubtedly in. Surely we are all in this together?

The more he said it the more I couldn’t help but think of a system that means working people, sometimes in households with two incomes, can’t afford to live. Of young people priced out of the jobs market by a rise in National Insurance and certainly priced out of the housing market if they did find a job. And the pensioners, who were the first target with the withdrawal of the winter fuel allowance and now face their pension being taxed.

And then there are those who deliberately make a choice not to be categorised as ‘working people’. Those who have calculated that they are better off on benefits with free rent, free this and free that and have decided that they will simply rely on the state to live. It can never ever in my book be right when it is financially more viable to sit at home and plan a lifetime of doing nothing rather than going out to work. But that is where we are in many, many cases.

Then there is immigration. A few thousand down will not cut it when on a sunny day with calm seas more boats will set sail while we use words, lots of them to say we are ending the crisis, as it inevitably is, but we are left witnessing that circumnavigating the correct channels is still easier than accessing a quick and simple decision-making process which says can you come, or can you not?

And if you think I have changed my tune I have not. I totally and wholeheartedly support those who need short-term help along the way to get back on their feet and become valued members of our communities. Benefits until they receive the step up they need are entirely justifiable. I absolutely agree that there are thousands of people fleeing conflict or even seeking a better life who can add value to our country with its rich diverse heritage. And do.

But words are not enough to sort the wheat from the chaff. We have to dedicate time, money and power to finding out who would give and who would take. A helping hand is one thing, a life time of handouts is entirely another. And words – lots of them don’t cut it any more. Neither does U-turn after U-turn on policies which first targeted the weakest and promised to root out the takers by examining a system that is designed not to help, but to become a permanent way of life. And that is why we are where we are today, with major upheavals in the local elections, a political leader clinging on by his fingertips and a country which it seems no one of any political persuasion is happy with.

This week’s column is not to denigrate anyone, no matter who you voted for, at least you voted, though most did not. I get it. After lots of words, too many words, people voted against something, not for something, or if they did I am as yet unsure as to how those words will be put into practice.

But local councillors cannot stop the boats. Local councillors cannot change Government policy which means it is easier to proudly boast about not having to work because they would be worse off financially. They cannot build more schools, more houses, or sort out the prison crisis. They cannot tackle the NHS waiting lists or improve the entire transport infrastructure. They are elected to look after towns and cities and rural communities. They are there to empty our bins, oversee planning applications, protect local bus routes and support their constituents, many of whom they know personally by seeking answers to their questions about potholes and care packages.

Should Keir Starmer have gone after the disastrous local elections rather than wait to be pushed? Possibly. Even me with all my loud opinions really doesn’t know. This Government has had two years to make its mark, now it has two years to actually do something to make a difference to how people feel about this country. I like Starmer’s stand on the war in Iran. That was tough. I like his nationalisation of British Steel. It is an industry we cannot live without in peace times and in war.

I haven’t liked his dithering. I didn’t like the fact that the national executive chose, wrongly, to protect his position by blocking Andy Burnham’s offer to come forward and in my view make the party stronger.

I haven’t liked living in a ‘will he go will he stay, shall we challenge shall we not’ environment and all the words spoken and debated when dare I suggest there are bigger fish to fry.

Words, the song says don’t come easy. It appears in British politics they come far too easily. And the sad thing is many of us are sick of listening. As my dad used to tell me when I was trying to win a war of words against a master wordsmith. “Right, enough said. Stop prevaricating. Just do it.”