Think Tanks
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CSJ - ‘Taking back control’ is not a Brexit agenda, it’s a social justice one.
June the 8th is being billed as a mandate for Brexit.
As the Prime Minister launched the campaign from the steps of Downing Street, she asked all parties to ‘put forward their proposals for Brexit’. She said that parliamentary division was weakening ‘the Government’s negotiating position in Europe’. That game-playing ‘risks our ability to make a success of Brexit’
But this election must not be fought, and will not be won, on the details of leaving the EU. Little of that matters to low income families living far away from the Westminster bubble.
When the British people voted to ‘take back control’, taking it back from the EU was just one part of the picture.
The CSJ’s analysis of the referendum showed that the vote was often people wanting to take back control of public services, jobs, communities, hospitals and schools.
The vote had as much to do with income as immigration.
At every level of earning there was a direct correlation between household income and the likelihood to vote for leaving the EU - 62 percent of those with income of less than £20,000 voted to leave, but that percentage fell in steady increments until, by an income of £60,000, it was just 35 percent.
Of course the result is framed in the language of Brexit, because that was the question put to the electorate. But many of the drivers beneath it were broader social issues from poor and disadvantaged neighbourhoods, crying out for a voice.
This election must give these individuals and families that voice. And the CSJ will work through the next two months to ensure that this voice is heard.
But that will mean little if it is forgotten for the five years following.
We want to hear what the next Government will do to roll back the sad reality that we are a world leader in family breakdown. How will the country address the stark correlation between poverty and a poor education and ensure that every child meets their full potential?
What policies will help those struggling with addiction and severe personal debt? And how can we build on a strong employment record to ensure that work always pays and is available for those that are able?
This will be the focus of the CSJ during the election and in the years that follow.
The Party leaders need to take their campaigns to our poorest areas and explain how life will be better for those living in low income Britain.
We should not let slick campaign targeting drown out the voice of those who need government help the most.
