On 12 September 2022 I'm setting off on a five day walk from North Hertfordshire to 10 Downing Street to deliver a simple message to the new Prime Minister: Stop talking…and listen to us!
We all deserve to have our voices heard by the politicians that are supposed to represent us. The next months and years seem really scary for most of us, and it’s difficult to see how future generations could possibly achieve a good life for themselves. Something desperately needs to change. Unfortunately, those in power in the UK are distracted and not actually listening to us…read more
Others have left messages that eloquently outline the many changes needed so that the next generations can look forwrd to a hopeful future. Nothing can be more urgent than the climate issue and for that our government needs not only to make urgent changes here at home but to do much more to intensify and unify a global response. We will aIl have to live differently too, less wastefully and extravagantly - I think many people are willing to do that, but we need clear plans and guidance so we can act together to clean up our world and ensure it remains livable in. tt's very good that you are doing this walk, Stefanie, and delivering your message to Downing Street - thank you for taking the time and making the considerable effort involved - I hope you will feel listened to respectfully and that there is a meaningful response from the government. Go well.
My early adulthood has been dominated by a political landscape of division, a degradation of this countries most sacred institutions and an ever-growing sense that my generation is experiencing the first drop in living standards in centuries.
In order to combat this I would like to see the following:
A halting of the recent increased authoritarianism of this government, such the Police and Crimes Bill which gives the police far greater ability to detain protesters for expressing their legal rights and the recent suggestion that the law could be changed force agency employers to supply workers to take over the duties of striking workers. The right of citizens to strike and workers to collectively bargain is a cornerstone of our democracy.
A focus from ministers on real issues, rather than Culture War topics – when Rishi Sunak announced his leadership campaign, he chose to focus on banning NHS guidance which aims to use sympathetic language for transgender people - instead of a cost of living crisis that will cause unfathomable levels of hardship and suffering in this country. The new health secretly banning the use of the Oxford comma in the NHS and Boris Johnson’s obsession with imperial measurements also spring to mind. People deserve a government concerned with the welfare and safety of its populous – not winning Twitter debates.
If there is to be any liveable future, there needs to be far more done to combat the Climate Crisis. The government should heed the warnings that scientists have been giving us for decades. I acknowledge that the UK has made more progress in this area than a lot of developed nations but as the country that industrialized the world, it is our responsibility to do as much as possible to save it. A green new deal, which reduces the climate impact of energy, housing, farming, transport and, industry is desperately overdue.
The consistent lack of new social housing and the seemingly unstoppable increase in buy to let landlords has left us with a decades long housing crisis. If we are to remain a nation of home owners, more needs to be done to make the market palatable to first time buyers, I would like to see bills similar to that passed in New Zealand in 2018, which denies foreign investors the ability to buy up homes. If we are to become a nation of renters, like some of our European friends, then I would like to see an increase in council housing and rent controls brought in for private landlords.
Finally, Wales, my home nation, has a long political voting tradition this differs greatly from that of our neighbours and as such I believe increased devolution is a best solution to prevent the breakup of the United Kingdom. I view recent attempts to undermine the authority of the Welsh government, such as the 'United Kingdom Internal Market Act,' doing just as much damage to the Welsh people’s belief in the Union as Independence campaigners. Acts that force devolved nations to follow UK law in areas that are devolved should be repealed and no such authoritarian legislation should be brought forward in future.
I would like to see politicians stop making policies that harm vulnerable people because in order to make electoral gains. Mobilising voters on "wedge" issues like transgender rights and the deportation of asylum seekers is completely unethical and politicians should have the moral backbone to not exploit fear or hatred for electoral purposes.
I also feel that consistent cut backs now mean that the country only runs on people's goodwill. People have to step in by donating food to food banks and many workers have to work overtime for no pay to make the system work. The government should step up and do its job, which I believe is to protect all of the people in a state.
Good Luck Stefanie! we need a change in government thinking and policy to fully recognize the climate crisis for what it is, a crisis! and to take immediate action to stop investment in fossil fuel, to invest in renewable energy, to address the ensuing food insecurity and energy crisis. For too long politicians have been weak-willed servants to the whims of lobbyists waving wads of cash under their noses!! How despicable that they can be bought so freely,so openly and have no conscience and show no compassion or understanding for the plight of a world, OUR WORLD, in peril. Failure to act now spells disaster for the young, the vulnerable and everyday folk struggling to make ends meet. This crisis will put more people on the edge of bankruptcy, threaten their already meager financial stability, if you can call it that, and add to the despair and hopelessness already permeating much of our society. Liz Truss needs to sit up, listen and ACT!
Everything seems to have reached a crisis point and I do not feel that the government cares to help or support anyone other than their own. It is time for change!
Here is a list of what I would like to ask of the government:
1. To ban conversion therapy for all LGBT+ people.
2. To better fund NHS transgender healthcare services.
3. To invest more in renewable energy sources and less in finite resources.
4. Stop the deportation of asylum seekers.
5. Provide safe routes of access to the UK for refugees and asylum seekers.
6. Increase minimum wage in proportion to rising inflation.
7. Subsidise energy costs for the winter so families do not go cold.
8. Increase wages for NHS healthcare workers by 15%. As healthcare workers have lost 1/5 of their wages in real terms since 2010.
9. To call a general election so we can have our say!
Something needs to be done about the housing market. For the last 8 weeks, my two prospective housemates and I have been putting offers on houses only to find out we have been outbid by other tenants. It can not be right for landlords to be working in the manner of an auction house. We started with a budget of 2,100pcm and it has been pushed up to 2,500pcm, which we would completely struggle to afford. It can’t be possible that after we pass all the referencing we are being outbid for properties which were put out on the market for 1,900pcm. We have had estate agents tell us that the housing market has had on average a 30-40% increase on properties in the past couple of months and we would need to increase our budgets (How?) in order to find a place. We have been looking in locations further out in London, as far as Woolwich, Wimbledon and are still unable to secure ourselves somewhere to live. I am lucky that I have an auntie and uncle in Greenwich that have let me stay with them, but it seems infeasible for people in other situations (students etc) to be able to find somewhere to live? Something needs to be done for peoples security in terms of housing and it needs to be done now!
I don’t know anyone that isn’t struggling in some type of way from the recent increase of inflation and energy prices. It’s obvious that this government only care for themselves and it’s about time something changed. Good luck Stephanie on your walk!
With all the challenges ahead of us, please immediately stop division and an ever increasing culture of blaming different groups of society. Vulnerable people in all walks of life need to be respected for who they are and get meaningful support. We need to create a culture of solidarity and togetherness.
Our young generation should not be burdened with excessive debts incurred to offer short term solutions. To the contrary, new perspectives and visions need to be created for young people. Considering the difficulties to secure their own property, new laws are necessary to make renting a more viable and securer option for young people to settle.
Finally, most people have realised in what crisis our environment is, but current crises have pushed efforts and solutions to the back burner again. The government needs to act immediately and plan longer term, away from serving elections!
I’m asking for a move towards dignity for everyone in society. People freezing because they can’t pay their energy bills, starving because they can’t afford food, dying seeking safe harbour and freedom from oppression, suffering discrimination for trying to be themselves and live authentic lives, panicking at a future of environmental collapse with no political will to do anything about it - these things all take away people’s dignity, and the collective ignorance of care and respect for everyone in society from those in government is shameful.
I feel ignored and disrespected by my representatives in government, who act with impunity and behave as though the public are too stupid or ill informed to notice. I’m asking for politicians to work with a sense of the seriousness of their jobs, a greater sense of respect and accountability towards the public they serve, and to make decisions for long term societal dignity rather than short term political gain.
I would like to see the government taking real steps to make change. In my adult lifetime no British government can be said to have taken any measures that can be considered 'bold' or 'drastic' when the cost of living crisis, Brexit-era social division, and the climate crisis require exactly this. Price caps, rent caps, and comprehensive environmental policies may not please big corporations but are the only way the UK can navigate today's world without leaving the majority behind for scraps. Good luck Stefanie and team!!
Climate breakdown is the biggest emergency. In "Hothouse Earth", UCL professor Bill McGuire explains the already baked-in consequences of the excessive carbon pumped in the atmosphere. This includes the ongoing melting of the Greenland ice coverage, causing sea rising and gulf stream weakening. Liz Truss, your government needs to lower the demand of energy by increasing house insulations, heat pump installations. It also needs to invest in renewable energy to cover the energy supply side of the energy provision.
Young people in the South-East who aspire to get on to the property ladder could really do with more Government support than they currently receive. Unless you are on an unusually high salary, the current market regularly forces individuals to either relocate far from friends/family, far from jobs, or turn to family for financial support.
I was fortunate enough to receive support from family and buy my first property in my mid-20's, but I don't know anyone my age in the same position (or even anywhere close to it). Many friends I've spoken to are deeply depressed by their situation, and feel they cannot properly plan their future until their living situation becomes more stable.
The Tories are no longer standing for the population of Great Britain…But they stand for their own self interests, and enrichment of their donors. The taxpayer should not simply hand money to the energy giants to subsidise their profiteering. If we don’t nationalise them we should hit them with a meaningful tax that covers as much of the price rise as possible.
I would like to see the government do the job it says on the description and show some care for the people they are responsible for. I would tell the government to show some respect to the workers in this country. It’s too obvious now that all they are is greedy for power, and people are growing restless. To not respond is to send this country into complete destruction.