Political opinion with Jon Trickett MP: Budgets reveal the shortcomings of Britain's governing class
Later today (Wednesday 26th), the Chancellor will deliver her Budget. I’ve watched a great number of these occasions unfold in the House of Commons chamber. Usually we hear grand promises about growth, talk of tough choices and claims of a brighter future on the horizon. I must say that more often than not, government's have failed to deliver.
Behind the rhetoric lies a deeper truth about Britain’s political and economic malaise: our country is run by a governing class so privileged, insulated and unaccountable that they simply aren't very good at governing.
We see the consequences everywhere. A nation that cannot feed its children, build its promised high-speed rail line, or sustain productive investment is a nation held back by its own leadership. Our public services are decaying and our economic capacity is shrinking. The individuals responsible are drawn overwhelmingly from the same elite schools and universities. They never seem to face consequences.
Time and again, the system fails catastrophically: Hillsborough, Grenfell, Orgreave, contaminated blood, the banking crash, the Post Office scandal, nuclear test veterans and the spy-cops revelations. In every instance, ordinary people were blamed for failures that were not theirs. Meanwhile, those in positions of authority hid behind bureaucracy, withheld the truth and ultimately walked away unpunished. Their ‘connections’ shielded them from accountability.
This is no accident. The Sutton Trust recently reminded us that just 7 per cent of the population attends private schools, yet their alumni dominate politics, business, media and the arts. They govern without understanding how most people live. Throughout the cost-of-living crisis, workers were told to show “wage restraint” by the Governor of the Bank of England - a man earning over half a million pounds a year. And who can forget the government minister who defended cutting welfare payments while admitting he couldn’t live on them himself because he “had a mortgage to pay”?
Significant power has also shifted to unelected bodies like the Bank of England and the Office for Budget Responsibility. As today’s Budget will show, these institutions exert enormous influence over living standards yet remain entirely unaccountable.
The establishment insists that Britain is a full democracy. It is not. Democracy has been hollowed out. Without real democracy, the rich and powerful are able to construct a Britain that serves their interests at the expense of 99% of the population.
As public deference collapses, the state increasingly resorts to authoritarian measures to suppress dissent. But resistance is growing. Across the country, people are demanding fairer governance and a more just society. The Labour government must stand with them - not for cosmetic reform, but for a democratic transformation that takes power out of the hands of the elite and returns it to the people where it belongs.
There is an opportunity with the Budget to make a clear signal to the British people that the government understands these problems. I hope the Chancellor of the Exchequer seizes the moment.