“Well I suppose I am political, I do vote”
– Deborah, Camelot Properties, Walthamstow
In today’s political system the level of involvement that is expected of a citizen constitutes one vote every five years, for a party whose policies are developed largely by wealthy, white men in a space that is entirely inaccessible to the general public. These policies may or may not have any bearing on the concerns and struggles you face in your daily life but ‘political engagement’, we are told, is voting on them anyway. Every day we consume media that tells us what the ‘big issues’ are but so often these are so far removed from the problems that actually affect us.
Watching the run up to this year’s election, the frustration of seeing the same non-issues take centre stage as housing, inequality, the cost of education and so many other pertinent topics failed to earn even a mention was another reminder of how limited our democracy is. After weeks of tension and debate, I had the pleasure of voting for a party who gained 1.3million votes and one seat in parliament, in a constituency that has been Labour since 1974.
The rage and the sense of powerlessness on May 8th 2015 were palpable across the UK as we braced ourselves for another five years of slashed public services and rising inequality. We prepared for our government to continue to pander to corporations whose exploitation for profit ethos keeps thousands trapped in poverty despite being employed. We prepared for out-of-control rent to continue spiralling as Foxton’s shares soared by 13%. As Londoners, we prepared to watch our city become more and more hostile to average income families as empty apartment buildings tower over us and temporary accommodation and homelessness become the norm. Cue more unaffordable housing to go with the unaffordable coffee and charcuterie moving into otherwise still derelict areas.
On May 9th, things started to look a little bit brighter. The launch night of Take Back The City breathed new life into the politics of London, bringing together people from every corner of London, not driven by a complex ideology or school of thought; just by the desire to live in a fair and equal London where we could all share the wealth and opportunity of the city.
Take Back The City is not a group of wealthy, white men in inaccessible spaces deciding how to make London fairer and more equal. We are a group of Londoners affected by and passionate about the issues that all of us are struggling with today, who want to see real representation in London’s politics, starting with the 2016 mayoral elections.
A democracy you can believe in is one where participation doesn’t just happen once every 5 years. In order to build a manifesto for a Take Back The City mayoral candidate, we are currently visiting as many organisations as we can in order to ask what demands they want to make to those who govern them. We’ve listened to the daily battles of sixth formers, migrant workers, bicycle couriers, athletes, choirs, and together we’ve come up with policies that could make London a much easier city to survive in. A city which continues to welcome the diverse array of people who create the dynamism that keeps us loving London no matter how much it grinds us down. We need a mayor in 2016 who does not feel entitled to rule due to his or her background but someone duty-bound to serve the people of the city. We need someone who can truly start addressing the situations that people who live in the city have said and are saying need to change so that we can Take Back The City and reclaim what is rightfully ours.
More info:
takebackthecity.org
facebook.com/takebackthecity2016
@TBTC2016
info@takebackthecity.org
Photo: TBTC ran an all-women workshop with young people from the Pembury Estate, London – http://takebackthecity.org