Finding The Silver Lining In the Conservative Party Conference

Image courtesy of Zimbio

It's currently conference season for the leading UK political parties. The Lib Dems dragged their feet to Bournemouth, Labour partied in Brighton, UKIP happened....somewhere...and The Conservatives are currently discovering that human life exists north of the Thames in Manchester. 

Conferences are fascinating spectacles to watch, because they are essentially grass roots rallies where councillors and members get to take the stage, debate new motions for future manifestos alongside the "headliners"- usually more recognizable MP's and cabinet members. Naturally I tuned into the Labour conference coverage on BBC Parliament without hesitation, but I decided to force myself to watch at least a few hours of the Conservative coverage too for political balance. 

This morning it was all about the party leaders speech. All eyes were on big T-May, as she graced the Royal blue stage. This was meant to be HER speech which would swat away any doubts about her authority in the party. Instead, she was recovering from a stubborn dry cough, getting pranked with a P45 and letters of the key slogan falling off of the wall behind her. I even maybe felt a bit sorry for her; on the part of being pranked at least by a comedian that hasn't been relevant since 2011, because conferences are at least meant to be a bit of a safe space for individual parties to develop ideas without direct criticism. 

But aside from the obvious cock-ups, it wasn't a half bad speech. Sure I disagreed with her on most Tory ideological visions of Britain, along with her insults of Labour and their stance on public spending, whilst she un-ironically wore a Frida Kahlo inspired bracelet, but in the grand scheme of political speeches it was fairly lukewarm on rhetoric. Unlike any other speech you'd see from David Davis, Boris Johnson, Michael Gove i.e. "Brexit 3"; the man-band.
Most importantly, and the point of this blog post, was finding the silver lining in what May outlined. Because whether I like it or not, the Conservatives are running the government at the moment. The best an opposition party can do in this situation is provide structured scrutiny and hold the government to account, but also gracefully recognize when good policy is actually being implemented. From studying politics I'm well aware that any ideology is not all good, nor bad. It's very grey.

The really positive part of the speech was a promise to introduce a new "opt out" register for organ donations. Which is brilliant and hugely progressive. A blogger, and e-friend of mine from back in t'blogging days, called Josie (who writes about her journey and outfits at whatjosiedidnext.com) last year received a pair of new lungs due to worsening of her cystic fibrosis. She has campaigned nationally for a change in the law, so it was uplifting to hear that Theresa May has pledged to change the organ donation process so it can benefit and extend the lives of many different people; especially those with genetic conditions. You can still register to be an Organ Donor HERE, as its not clear yet when this will be written into law.

Of course a friend pointed out to me, the "just say if you don't want your organs harvested" policy has been the case in Wales since 2015. Notably, it was implemented by the Labour government in Wales as it has devolved powers over the NHS. So it's nice to see the English government is taking tips from other parts of the union! Hopefully we can follow Scotland in the pursuit of plastic recycling points too.

"That is why last year 500 people died because a suitable organ was not available. And there are 6,500 on the transplant list today." 

She also pledged to review the Mental Health Act, which was originally passed more than 30 years ago (with the last amendment being made in 2007), and is rightfully due for an update. The MHA is essentially the law which decides if you should be detained and treated in hospital- or for lack of a better term, 'sectioned.' For a PM who made mental health a cornerstone of her first speech on the doorstep of downing street but hasn't really done much for the cause yet, this is actually a good move. Especially if it will prevent any more mental health patients being locked up in police custody cells for hours without proper assessment because there literally weren't any beds in a psychological unit available. Just a reminder that its 2017 and that still happens btw. 
There is also widespread critisism that the current version of the MHA discriminates against black and ethnic minority populations, especially as the 2007 update "largely focused on public protection and risk management" as opposed to "strengthening patients’ rights to seek independent reviews of their treatment" which was the tone of the original 1983 Mental Health Act. Many activists argue the "public safety" element intertwines with wider racial rows relating to the police, and so the MHA dis-proportionally affects ethnic communities. Whatever creed, colour or background- you don't deserve to be detained against your will without a proper care plan, or bed in a unit fit for your condition. 
It will be interesting to see what improvements are suggested, and crucially, if they are even implemented in an NHS already in debt. But the controversial 2007 change was implemented under a Labour government, who proudly champion the mental health cause as their own, so things aren't always what they appear and parties visions change from leader to leader, or when in power. 

 "I have asked Professor Sir Simon Wessely to undertake an independent review of the Mental Health Act, so that we can tackle the longstanding injustices of discrimination in our mental health system once and for all."

The important thing I'm trying to say is that some issues, such as mental health and organ donation, HAVE to surpass partisan politics. Because literally hundreds, if not thousands of people are dying because of these laws. So any reform is a silver lining. However I am not so blind-sighted by neatly packaged promises, that I can consider even voting Conservative in the future. This is the party that has ravaged key public services, under funded councils and NHS trusts including my own, scrapped housing benefit for under 25's, introduced the bedroom tax, refused to consider a public sector pay rise (whilst bulking up MP wages by a handsome £1,000 this year), forcing all government committees to have a Conservative majority which eliminates democratic representation and debate, pulling a power-grab general election when we have 101983792 other problems already...I just can't stomach any of that. 

However, I would encourage anyone to dip their toes into the waters of their opposition party. It's probably more comfortable as a Labour supporter to stand in a crowd chanting "ooooh jeremy corbyn!" but if you want to earn political stripes, you have to recognize when progress is being made and understand what the opposition is trying to achieve. For example, gay marriage was introduced under a Tory government. But saying this, the breakdown of the vote shows that 128 Tory MPs voted against the legislation, and the passing of the bill did rely on Lib Dems/Labour to make up the difference of those "representatives of the people" who could not bring themselves to vote in favour of giving millions of LGBT people (including their own constituents and tax payers who pay their wage) the right to marry the person they love. So for some social issues, its clear there needs to be a cross-party effort. Of course, the actual politics of politics is incredibly fickle, but this new wave of supporters from both the left and right who outright refuse to admit there are not traits in the opposition that they agree with are incredibly tiresome. Its frustrating that more than ever, more people are engaging in politics but its just descended into a race to the bottom in insults and actions. 

2016 had a polarizing effect in politics, so perhaps I am just seeking out a bit of familiarity in the enemy. It seems elections are becoming increasingly bitter and nasty, when really it should be about what policies work for the largest amount of people. But until we have another general election I'll be looking for, and supporting, the shimmering silver in a grey cloud of Conservatism and austerity.