Today the British PM, Rishi Sunak, called a general election for the 4th of July. He spoke of the challenging times and of strong leadership and achievements. It was as if he was talking about someone else, a real leader, rather than he himself or the woeful list of Tory leaders who have preceded him.
During the announcement someone started playing a song, the lyrics “things can only get better” echoing around Downing Street. Sunak ignored it, as he did the rain pooling on his shoulders. This is not a man who takes notice of things he doesn’t like.
He soon moved from his track record, the guy isn’t a complete idiot, to bad mouthing the opposition - because that’s what this election will be all about. Ignore what we’ve done to hurt you, but fear them.
It’s been such a long time, 14 years the Tories have been in charge. Children completing their schooling will have only ever known Tory rule. The days of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown seem so long ago.
I love much about the UK. The cultural output of those islands, books, music, television, so many things, is unparalleled. Many of us feel links to the place whether we migrated from there ourselves or have ancestors that did generations ago.
For young Kiwis it’s a wonderful opportunity to travel, to experience living in a different country that isn’t so different. But it can also be bloody expensive. Until you start earning pounds it’s horrifying how quickly your kiwi dollars disappear. The amount you pay to live somewhere you wouldn’t look twice at back home, horrendous.
I’ve hated seeing what the Tories have done to the people of those islands with austerity, and Brexit. They’ve basically been the poster child, the neoliberal laboratory, to show others what not to do.
About a year after we first met Fi and I headed off to London. It was 1997, the same year Tony Blair came to power, ending almost 20 years of Thatcher and Major.
It was all Cool Britannia then, the new Prime Minister hanging out with the Brit Pop stars of the day. An enormous relief after so long.
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The following year the Good Friday agreement came, on this very day in 1998 it was endorsed in a referendum by 75% of the people in Northern Ireland. There was such a wave of optimism at the time, although some were cynical that peace could ever be achieved. By and large it has stood for more than a quarter of a century, after decades of murder and conflict.
Back in that year of 1997, once we’d done some travelling, we settled into Shepherd’s Bush. At that time it was popular and affordable to young antipodeans who had been priced out of Earl’s Court. Before the prices in W12 forced them out further to the likes of Acton.
It was pretty grotty. We had a two bedroom flat on the 2nd of 19 floors in a tower block behind a petrol station, which we shared with a South African overstayer. The windows wouldn’t close so the heat from the radiators directly below them was wasted, meaning many visits to the Post Office to get electricity credit on a card - something I wasn’t used to in New Zealand.
We both started earning reasonable money and spent most of our time out of the flat, travelling, seeing London, or at the pub. I recall at the time thinking how grotty our living conditions were, the lift smelled of piss and the flat wasn’t a pleasant place to be, just somewhere to sleep. I wondered how on earth locals raising families on much lower incomes managed.
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