Political Economy

I am English. I am probably more English than most people. I can trace my ancestry back to before the Act of Settlement in 1707. Lucky me. However on paper I am American and can not vote or have a passport. As my son pointed out to me America is not part of the Commonwealth. Revolution put paid to that.

So Englishness is not necessarily a ‘place of birth thing’. It is a deep feeling inside of where you belong. Small things make it apparent if you are looking carefully. I have always preferred tea to coffee and felt so relieved to arrive in England where tea is fantastic; unlike American attempts at tea. I still travel to the States with my small tea pot and a selection of my favourite blends. England is in my heart and no bureaucrat can take that away.

In my job I receive students who are applying to attend school in this country. I am amazed that many have UK Passports but have never lived in this country and many times don’t speak any English. What is that about?

I feel that we have become so frightened of standing up for ourselves and our identity that we defer to anyone who wants to come here. We demand nothing from them and we give them everything. If you live in some third world mire a shining place like England with its generous benefits and free schooling and health care must seem like heaven.

Recently I looked again at the process for Naturalisation and became even more confused. Nowhere does it take into account the fact that I have paid taxes for 30+ years. Nor the fact that my children are all English, or that I teach in a shortage subject in a deprived area of the UK. I don’t get any ‘points’ for these factors. Points that might reduce the fee I will pay to become a citizen. And to be fair apart from using a different queue at the Airport I am not sure what I would get.

And yet, I read in the paper that a British resident is suing the British Government for mistreatment by them (although at arms length) because while he was allegedly engaged in terrorist activities against the British State they might have informed the Americans about him to enable more effective questioning to take place. And he is likely to win!!

So is he English or British? He’s certainly using this fact to gain sympathy and of course compensation. No to him it is just a word and convenient refuge to gain maximum profit. True Englishness is in the heart and seeks no gain.

Well it would have to be since I am a teacher. I have taught for 20 years. I feel worried for the system I have been part of for all these years.I have seen what various administrations have tried to impose on education. I have seen the imposition of the National Curriculum. On the whole a good thing as it determined what should be taught. Good schools did it already. The only regret here is that it stopped with core subjects. Testing was needed to get the standards going in the right direction. But we should have prepared teachers and schools for picking it up and used resources available to develop this assessment. A missed opportunity in my view.

Many talk of initiative overload and to be fair they have a point. It is not so much the initiatives; it is that they are not joined up. On their own they seem like a good thing but they seem to exist in a single issue kind of world. Each one vying for time and favour independently. No wonder staff get confused.

Targets on the whole are a good thing. However what no one knew was that politicians and other mandarins did not understand that targets are what you aim for, they are aspirational. There is no recognition that if the targets are good and challenging enough then sometimes they will not be achieved. As a school you always need to meet your targets. Failure is bad. So a game is played. If the outcomes meet whatever the current criteria is then all is well. Forget the children.

Circumstances in school have changed over the past 20 years. I teach in a large comprehensive in a ‘inner city’ type environment. The nature of the students have changed. Families have changed in their composition. Children’s status in the family has changed. Parenting skills are lacking in many cases. Children are often lacking in emotional skills. We are however at least beginning to recognise that we need to support families if we are to support children better. We work with outside agencies to support the child. The Every Child Matters agenda is probably the best thing that has come out of the system in a long while. If all our efforts are child centred we will at last be able to educate children to be able to take part in the world of work.

However we are in transition between these two world views and this makes for difficulties. It takes time to change the traditional views of teachers, parents and the media. Authority in school is earned. (Just the same as it is in society) The safety in challenging unfairness is taken for granted. Everyone knows their rights. Teachers can no longer say ‘because I say so’ and hope to remain unchallenged. The family changes mean that children do not see their parents or other adults as remote beings. We need to re-think our ways of dealing with students who fall foul of the system in school. We need to understand that creating folk heroes (for bad behaviour) does not serve any one well. We are not in the punishment business but in the education business. Creating tomorrow’s future has always been what we are or should be about.

I am still excited about education and I can see what the future vision is about. I am worried that the current financial problems will put all this on hold for a long time. We will revert to a two tier system: those who can afford private/independent education will succeed; those who have to take a state route will face the luck of the draw with their school. All children deserve the best education we can give them. It is all our futures! I am desperately hoping that we will be able to support all that is good and not falter now.

Got you! Now I wouldn’t want you to think that this is some form of political protest on my part. No! The reason why I can’t vote is they won’t let me.

I have lived in England for nearly 36 years and I am married to an Englishman. I have worked and paid tax for nearly 25 years. My big problem is that I am not an English subject. In order to become one I need to take a ‘Test of Britishness” (I took at cost of £35- and fortunately passed 1st time) and then pay nearly £700 and complete a massive form to allow me to participate in a citizenship ceremony thus allowing me to apply for a passport, (£140) and then I can vote.

England has a special relationship with America but it is not that special. When I came to live in England as a young bride I was making my home and future here. I am ethnically English and can trace my ancestry to well before the Act of Union in 1707. Living in England felt right. I loved tea and cricket.

I didn’t really give it much more thought than that. I was busy bringing up three sons and working as a teacher; first in leafy suburbs and then in a tough ‘inner city’ school. I even did voluntary work when I was a young Mum working in Community Health as a Chair and then moving on to Chairing a Strategic Health Authority Ethics Committee. I did my bit to contribute. (and still do)

As I became interested in local issues I was sure that as a tax-paying resident I would be allowed to vote. No way! However if I had been Irish then it would have been no problem. Explain that to me please?

The irony is that if I had married a Frenchman and/or lived in France I could have had my passport immediately. I could even have had my identity altered to make me completely French. And of course as a taxpayer and resident I would have been eligible for a vote. (even if I was not French!) Great to see that our Gallic neighbours understand the rights of people living in a democracy.

So although I won’t be voting at the General Election in May it won’t be because I don’t want to but because narrow minded politicians give citizenship to anyone who can pay and fail to understand the maxim: No Taxation Without Representation! Seems to me that was an issue before; haven’t they learned anything in 200+ years?

So I feel very upset that

Having lived in England for nearly 36 years I feel at last able to comment on politics. It’s not that I have never been involved or taken an interest in politics(more of that later) but as a Yank I have always been aware that even the natives of these islands are not always aware of what is going on. Let me explain.

To an American British Politics have always seemed quirky. I admire the power given to call elections and all the other posturing that goes with it. Much better that the brash, in your face, American political machine,where everyone fits into a category (nice-eh?) and campaigning goes on for so long that it becomes more like background music. Somehow it all seems to fit with other British institutions like cricket test matches and Bank Holidays. However British is not a word I would use these days. These are largely English institutions. And as the English as a people awake and grasp their identity, my question is: Have they left it too late?

As I watch the politicians on the box doing their bit to ‘sell’ their wares to us I want to shout at them: ‘You just don’t get it!’ I believe that they have not really understood the mind of England. Lack of choice offered by the politicians as they compete to sell us their wares or disparage their opponents wares stops them from hearing our real questions. ‘Why are the English denied their country?’ Why are the ‘suits’ in Europe telling us what to do? Why are we not allowed to hear any views apart from the main ‘approved’ political voices? All they really want to do is tell us how great their ‘big idea’ is compared to their opponents’.

Don’t get me wrong, I am impressed that anyone can stand for Parliament provided they have £500 to waste. What they don’t get is an equal platform for the ideas that they bring (however different) to be heard. Big is heard; small is not. Oh unless you have a controversial platform that just manages to not be legally proscribed like the BNP. Or you are a ‘single issue’ party like UKIP.

In America only folk with access to a good political machine stand for high office. And access to that machine brings much needed cash to pay for all the endless advertising that is required to make a dent on voters’ consciousness. Come on, if you are putting out ads during prime time you have to compete with all the various life changing products on offer. I want a politician who can at least offer me the same thrill as an end to wrinkles or instant weight loss.

So my question is: What has this to do with Democracy? Is it just mindless posturing by a controlling elite who are just slickly manoevring the voters into a pre-determined selection. I am not surprised that so many people don’t bother to vote. The whole thing feels like manipulation and I sympathise with voters who don’t want to be part of it. If Democracy is brought into disrepute then the only alternative for the people is revolution! Something the Yankees know a thing or two about!