Building Back Better ?
Building Back Better ?
' Build Back Better' really resonates as a slogan. Even Boris Johnson has used it, disingenuously of course . It expresses a widespread sentiment that the UK shouldn't just return to ' business as usual ' post pandemic but that the crisis should be used as an opportunity to improve our economy and society, making it both more equal and more sustainable.
The 'Build Back Better' website says:
'We need something new.
We need a new deal that prioritises people, invests in our NHS and creates a robust, shockproof economy that is capable of tackling the climate crisis '
I am in full agreement with the above and, whilst anxious to stress the international nature of the required response, accept that the focus of the campaign will necessarily start with demands that we can make of our own politicians and government. My concern is with the nature of these demands , which are wide ranging but extremely general, and without a strategy for achieving them.
see here https://www.buildbackbetteruk.
BBB looks forward to ' creating an unstoppable movement to rebuild our society for the better, to urge the government to provide a new deal that puts people, not profits, first' . This can apparently be done by:
* Organising in our communities to build the people powered mandate for building back better
* Winning political support by putting pressure on politicians to listen to our demands
* Mass mobilisations to show our strength and make ourselves heard
The organisational emphasis is on the local with political support being measured by the extent to which pressure can be put on local MPs ( obliged to follow the party line ) and local councils ( with hollowed out finances and severely curtailed authority ).Meanwhile the advertised ' mass mobilisations' have already been and gone. Did anybody notice ?
Community ' grassroots ' politics has its place but needs to be complemented by a ' bigger' politics, engaging with the wider public. This ' wider public' is made up of voters from across the political spectrum of course. Many are no doubt concerned about the current state of affairs and probably more open to radical ideas than is usually the case. At least partially convinced of the need to take drastic action to address climate change and other environmental disasters many ( a majority ) had already cast votes in favour of a change of direction at last year's general election. Even some of those who did vote Tory will have been appalled at the gross negligence and/or crass incompetence of Johnson's government and are regretting the choice they made in December. Largely disinclined to be politically active ( rightly or wrongly thinking they have ' better things to do' ) many among this 'wider public' ( like many of 'us') also want to get back to some semblance of ' normality' which, for all its faults and inadequacies, offered many of them ( and dare I say many of 'us' ? ) a decent and rewarding life.
There should be an electoral offer by politicians who this ' wider public' will trust. Some hard truths will be difficult to swallow ( the need to fly far less and eat far less meat are two which spring immediately to mind) and this 'wider public' will take much persuading , if they are to consume less and substantially reduce their carbon footprint.
What needs to be presented are a set of firm proposals and achievable goals, for energy production, transportation, construction , agriculture etc. The aim should be to offer a green and a just transition to transform our infrastructure and to replace the jobs that have already gone and those which are about to be lost.
Some plans have already been drawn up. The New Economics Foundation has produced a plan for aviation involving a 'just transition' for workers
see here https://neweconomics.org/2020/
It has also outlined how £28 billion could be spent on green infrastructure projects over an 18 month period, creating 400,000 jobs
See here https://neweconomics.org/2020/
Friends of the Earth have calculated that free bus travel could be provided at an additional cost of £3 billion per year.
see here https://policy.friendsoftheea
On the basis of their sums I have calculated that the number of bus journeys could be doubled and all could be made free at a cost of approximately £8 billion per year, around 1% of pre Covid government spending. Of course these bus journeys would would need to take place on electric buses. An American study costed the maximum price of an electric bus at $750,000
see here https://res.mdpi.com/d_attachm
Even allowing for additional costs to make such buses ' covid safe' would mean the existing 35,000 buses in England could be replaced by electric buses and doubled in number for half the price of HS2!
A detailed plan for generating 100% of our electricity from renewables has yet to be produced although both technological advances and the rapid expansion of off shore wind farms are promising developments.
see here https://www.azocleantech.com/a
A government committed to serious action on climate change would take the lead in co-ordinating this expansion , working in partnership with private companies, investing in their initiatives in return for a commanding strategic role.
Large fossil fuel corporations, fearful of their own future , claim to be eager to play a leading role in the transition to the sustainable and green economy which is urgently required
see here for instance https://www.bp.com/en/global/
We can't rely on them of course and may be justifiably sceptical of their ability to transition from being part of the problem to part of the solution. A government serious about undertaking a rapid transition to a green and sustainable economy and society would seek to control and co-opt such corporations in the interests of the ' common good' rather than wasting time and resources battling to take them into ' public ownership ', which won't in itself stop the planet from burning. Such an approach would need to be supported by the ' unstoppable movement for change ' which Build Back Better refers to. Building such a movement would necessarily make effective use of the tools provided by the over rewarded and under taxed 'tech giants' (Google, Apple, Facebook etc) who all profess a desire to ' help change the world for the better' and must be held to their word.
It is imperative that a government committed to serious action along the lines of the above is elected at the earliest opportunity. It is unlikely to be a majority Labour one. Realistically the best we can hope for is a coalition government, led by Labour and supported by Lib Dems, Greens and Scottish and Welsh Nationalists.
The election of such a government is most likely be achieved on the basis of an electoral pact, with the various parties standing down on a constituency by constituency basis, to allow the best placed ' progressive ' candidate the best chance of defeating a Tory opponent. The other parties are likely to insist on Labour committing to PR as a condition for entering into such a pact. Labour should be happy to do so, as a means of defeating the Tory government but also because it is the right thing to do.
See here https://www.makevotesmatter.or
All partners in the coalition must be committed to taking emergency action on climate change. The recent demand by the Lib Dems for a £150 three year green Coronavirus recovery plan gives hope that they might be serious about stepping up to the task.
see here https://www.theguardian.com/en
Meanwhile the SNP claims that the government it controls in Scotland ' is a world leader on climate change' whilst Plaid Cymru has committed itself to a ' Green Jobs Revolution '
see here https://www.snp.org/were-addre
and here https://www.energyvoice.com/ot
Labour Party Conference in 2019 agreed to 'work towards a path to net zero carbon emissions by 2030'
see here https://labourlist.org/2019/09
A year on, out of office and riven by internal division and post election despair, little appears to have been done to take this commitment forward This needs to change, urgently, whilst accepting that a 2030 target is now unlikely to be achieved.
The climate emergency means that now, more than ever, there is a need to avoid unnecessary division over secondary issues.The challenge is enormous and time is short.
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