‘Politics generally is a pressure for good and restore hope – when you vote for it’
Growing up in our house, we didn’t discuss politics. For us, it just wasn’t kitchen table conversation.
More often than not it was football, music, or schoolwork. But it could be more serious: when is mum getting out of hospital? Can we afford to pay the bills this month? And sometimes – which of the utilities are we cutting first?
Years later, I know the families of many Mirror readers are having the same tough conversations. And with our public services broken, our economy flatlining, and monthly bills sky high, it’s no wonder. Because instead of treading lightly on our lives, politics under this Conservative government has ridden roughshod over them.
Britain is, despite everything this Tory government has thrown at it, a great country. Its people, businesses, and communities continue to come together in the face of adversity. It is a strong nation of pride and potential, with boundless ambition for its families and its communities.
It should be the envy of the world. From sparkies to software engineers to steelworkers, the potential of our industries and hard-working people should be backed to the hilt. But under this Conservative government, it’s an afterthought. Liz Truss’ kamikaze mini-budget and Rishi Sunak’s £46bn unfunded tax cut have shown us that.
Watch the Mirror’s new YouTube show Party Games as politicians spill secrets of being an MP
Join us for the Mirror’s new show Party Games as politicians spill the secrets of being an MP – while taking on the challenge of playing a well-known board game.
In the programme on the Mirror’s YouTube channel, familiar faces from across political spectrum will do battle with reporter Sophie Huskisson. At the same time they will face questions on who they are, what they stand for and why they became a politician.
In a relaxed tell-all chat over games including Kerplunk, Jenga and Snakes and Ladders, we hear about how they manage their work-life-balance, how they deal with social media trolls and about some of their worst and best times in Westminster.
Party Games is available now on the Mirror’s YouTube channel with new episodes every Monday at 6pm.
One thing is abundantly clear – the Conservative Party’s chaos comes at the expense of working people. And they don’t get it – the decisions they make have a real-life impact on the pound in your pocket.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Politics can – and should – be a force for good. It should tread lightly and restore the ordinary hope in people’s lives. But that doesn’t happen unless you vote for it.
That’s why I urge Mirror readers to head down to the polling station with their ID and demand change from this tired Tory Party led by a Prime Minister too weak to call a general election. Because that change only comes with a vote for a Labour Party back in the service of working people.
A Labour Party that will get Britain building again to drive growth, switch on GB Energy to lower bills, take back our streets with 13,000 more neighbourhood police and PCSOs, make our NHS fit for the future with 2m more appointments, and break down barriers to opportunity for every child.
So to those reading who – like my mum and dad, might not talk politics at the kitchen table, but do have hope and ambition for their family – let’s send a message to Rishi Sunak. Let’s choose renewal, not decline; growth, not stagnation; service, not psychodrama. Let’s get Britain’s future back.
