Yet so much of what makes communities work is so much more positive. Mutual help is everywhere. Volunteers help to welcome refugees; refugees in turn come out to help flood victims. Communities provide allotments; allotment holders offer produce to the needy. This sort of behaviour shames our political class, with its eye so permanently on the balance sheet rather than on human needs and kindness.
In this country we are so fortunate in our climate and our history. Most people can work now in decent conditions, with good health and relative comfort at home. Life expectancy is growing and mental ill-health and discrimination are increasingly addressed, albeit from unacceptable levels. At grass roots, society works fairly, belying the inequalities accepted and even perpetuated by the Establishment oligarchy. People of all persuasions, ethnicities and gender are accepted within society and the law.
True, none of this happened overnight nor without leadership and often legislation. Governments and Oppositions have played an important part in directing societal changes. If the needs of the people and of communities are to drive legislation in future, we need to have politicians and electoral processes which pay heed to these needs and make positive changes more likely, rather than more fear, blame and focus on mere money. This is why it was a pleasure to march with Podemos, which links intellectual head with community heart in its very structure.
Tom Serpell
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