When the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition took power in 2010 they had one major priority; to transfer as much wealth as possible from the poorest in society to the wealthiest. Naturally, it is no coincidence that members of the coalition government are also amongst those who are the wealthiest in society! Each day brings more evidence of that transfer of wealth. Starting with cutting benefits for the unemployed and disabled; assisted by the Tory media and their hunt for dole scroungers (in communities where 16 or 17 people are chasing every vacancy). This assault on the people is continued by major job losses in the public sector, with all the knock-on effect that will have within the private sector – particularly shops and other small business. But government cynicism is breathtaking. It deliberately creates mass unemployment whilst at the same time penalises people for being unemployed. War has been declared! And now the realisation is beginning to hit home; that life, which has been tough in the past, is about to get worse.

In actual fact, we are now seeing the latest development in a long process that has led to the brutalisation of our communities; a process which began under the last Tory regime with the destruction of our manufacturing and mining industries and caused the devastation of many local areas. This was followed by the decision to allow the flooding of our housing estates with ‘skunk’ marijuana and cheap alcohol, accompanied by the legal system reducing the punishments for those who carry out acts of violence within poorer communities.  Now, the new Justice Secretary Ken Clarke has signalled that, due to cost, very few people will be sent to prison (probably only benefit cheats or those who steal from banks), thus encouraging more crime at a time of reduced police numbers. We can now look forward to a time when our streets will be overrun by a feral youth that has no social or education facilities, no prospects for work, and reduced benefits if registering as unemployed. There will be no police around to stop them from committing crimes; no fire service nearby to extinguish the arson attacks on those who offer resistance, and the nearest hospital will be privatised and refuse to take patients from certain postcodes. In addition to rising crime, there is an attack on the social welfare system; no care services for the elderly and disabled, no meals on wheels, and no respite care for those who look after the vulnerable. There will also be an unprecedented assault on the disabled, with a eugenics-influenced medical company forcing millions of vulnerable people into abject poverty and, possibly, pushing many to suicide or an early death from poor health. Just like the Nazis, this ConDem government has decided that the poor and disabled, the working class youth and the unemployed, are untermensch – subhuman.  Welcome to Cameron’s Reich!    

However, things could now start to get interesting. For thirty years, and even through the dark years of Thatcher, governments have been able to avoid problems from the masses due to the fact that loss of work, and the prestige that went with having a job, was cushioned by housing benefit and invalidity payments. But now the government is seeking to end the benefits cushion without providing employment opportunities, and it is seeing their benefits reduced unfairly that will make people more politically aware than ever before, and risks provoking the sort of backlash that has not been seen since those days in 1981, when Toxteth and Brixton burned.  More to the point, the brutalisation of our youth has an interesting historical precedent. In ancient times the Spartans brutalised their youth as a deliberate policy, and turned them into the finest warriors in Europe (ask the Persians at Thermopylae!). So, the government should be aware that its policy of targeting working class communities could actually backfire, especially if our youth and unemployed are given suitable education and direction by community activists who step into the void left by the State. In other words, don’t step back in horror from the cuts, step up to the plate and make a difference; radicalise our communities!

Finally, let’s not forget that if the ConDems declare war on the people, history teaches us that the people are justified in responding accordingly. As English Radicals we take pride in a political heritage of fighting against tyranny and injustice, and a key moment in this heritage came on 30th January 1649, when King Charles I was executed in Whitehall after having been found guilty of ‘waging war on his people’. This day was a victory for the ordinary people of England who, through their service in the New Model Army, the ‘instrument of the people’, had brought an end to a tyrannical government. Perhaps somebody should remind Cameron and Clegg about what happened in January 1649!