All in This Together?

Who can forget David Cameron's line about our situation in view of the economic meltdown of 2008. Times were going to be tough. There was going to have to be a new era of austerity. The whole country, apparently, was going to have to unite in this harsh economic environment. The rich, the poor, all of us. After all, Cameron said, "we're all in this together".
So, fast forward a few years and what has really happened. Going by our own local mental health services it does indeed seem that many of us are having to cope with cut-backs. At a consultation meeting on 14th June at our local resource centre in Shelton, we were told that the Trust's "preferred option" would be to actually close the Bennett Centre which I had attended for treatment throughout my illness. Together with the loss of 24 community beds, the closing of the centre aroused fears that suicide rates would increase and leave many with no option other than to be treated at home or on an acute ward at the local Harplands Hospital. Service users and carers alike were worried that taking away these resources would leave them stranded. The view was expressed by many at the meeting that they did not want to go into the Harplands Hospital, and that often problems can actually be exacerbated by their own home environment. The closing of the resource centre and the loss of the beds was then seen as a massive blow. One carer even went so far as to say that the centre had, quite literally, saved his and his wife's life, and without it he seriously doubted whether they would be here today. Some even warned that they would rather commit suicide than stay at the Harplands, such is the terrible reputation of the place amongst service users. This was met with a somewhat dismissive response from the commissioners at the meeting, with them saying that they had had positive feedback from people who had stayed at the Harplands. I can only say that this view was not held by those at the meeting, and neither does it seem to be one held by many at the Pathways Group, which I attend.
Speaking of which, our group now has to be held at a local library, and not at the resource centre. We were expecting new inductees to attend the group this year, but they have, quite simply, not turned up, and it is thought that perhaps this is because some do not feel safe enough yet to return to a community setting. We also now have to run the group, for the time being, ourselves, without the help of professional staff, the result being that the group has simply become a social gathering, whereas before there was a more structured and educational element which was specifically aimed at aiding people's recovery.
Suffice it to say, then, that we are definitely feeling the pinch. But, go to the other end of the economic spectrum, and it appears that Cameron's little saying may not exactly be an accurate description of what is having to be done. The recent revealing of comedian Jimmy Carr's legal, but, even according to Cameron, morally questionable, tax affairs opened the whole issue of tax evasion by the very wealthy in this country. Just why Carr was singled out might also be cause for speculation, given that many others of celebrity status seem to be doing the same thing, not to mention the many corporations who use tax loopholes to avoid paying out their fair share. In fact, I heard only this morning that such shameless manipulation of the tax system might account for around a trillion Euros within the Eurozone alone.
Add to this that the bankers who brought about our economic collapse still appear to be awarding themselves huge salaries and bonuses. And now it even seems they have been fraudulently manipulating interest rates. This has led Liberal Vince Cable to describe the culture within the banking system as a "moral quagmire" where corruption was "endemic". Only, I think, Barclays have so far owned up to what has been going on, but again on the news this morning it emerged that it is not only they who were involved, but that this may again be a truly global phenomenon. Even so, Bob Diamond, the CEO of Barclays, has said that there really is no need for him to resign, blaming everything on his minions. Of course, he was totally unaware, your honour, that anything was going on, despite the fact that he is in charge of everything. So, another public enquiry, alongside Leveson (which itself has revealed just how cosy relations have been between politicians and various arms of the media), awaits. Personally, I would prefer prosecutions to a public enquiry. After all, what has happened is fraud, plain and simple, and if there are no prosecutions then I think that signals just about the end of any ounce of decency which might have been left in the affairs of our glorious nation.
So, it seems, going by all this, there is one rule for some, and another rule for the many. Again David Cameron, after the tax evasion scandals emerged, tried to swing attention away from the rich tax dodgers by declaring that the benefits system created a "something for nothing" culture, where many are choosing to accept benfits instead of working, and so he suggested cutting housing benefit for the under 25s. So, once more those on benefits were demonised. To such thinking, the Archbishop of Canterbury countered that the state was abrogating its responsibilites to the most poor and vulnerable in our country. Hurrah for him! And, with these new banking revelations, even "Dave" may have to do something about the massive unfairness and inequalities in Britain. Hopefully, the public will not stand for this sort of thing anymore, and something will change. Indeed, when I listen to Cameron, I almost feel that I live on a different planet to him. Never have I known myself to be so annoyed at a government, a government which clearly protects the interests of the wealthy while simultaneously scapegoating some of the most vulnerable in our society. So, if you were thinking that we're all in this together, frankly, I think you'll believe anything.