And won’t stop after this one
Rachel Cox, Oxford Socialist Party
The challenge is not just seeing what’s wrong with the world, everyone can do that. There’s plenty to see, from the woeful response to the pandemic and the government’s use and subsequent disregard of NHS workers, to increasing hatred and violence towards ethnic and trans minorities – trans hate crimes have risen by 56% in the last year with an estimated 88% of further incidents believed to go unreported in the first place. It’s easy to see these problems, the challenge is apathy. Exactly because there’s so much wrong, our hearts can harden and turn away in case they might shatter.
That was where I was four months ago, beaten down by the sheer quantity of woe to the point where it was easier to ignore it and try to live my life. But over the last year, seeing people freezing and starving on the streets and in their homes due to the failures of local and national government was the tipping point.
When I realised that all these problems were linked to a systemic failure, of the Tory government and the profit-driven system of capitalism, my apathy gave way to compassionate anger. I realised we have no choice but to fight for things to get better, and that passively waiting won’t do anything.
Littlemore ward in Oxford is an area that’s felt the sharp end of council decisions and a decade of cuts. This includes unpopular Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) schemes, and lacklustre bus provision. There’s a strong want and need for deeper involvement of local people in how their area is run. And with all of these failures happening under a Labour council, people are looking for an alternative.
So I am standing in the upcoming Littlemore by-election for the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), taking place on 2 March. I stand with its policy platform of peoples’ governance and real accountability, for needs budgets which use council reserves and borrowing powers to fund the services we need, linked to a campaign to demand the resources taken by the Tory government.
And I won’t be stopping campaigning after this by-election. Because, if the choice is between apathy and action, what choice do we really have?
