I’m angry.
I saw a FB post where someone from school declared “I don’t care how you voted, its good that you voted! Let’s focus on Christmas!!”
It has taken all my willpower not to comment how “focusing on Christmas won’t be a viable option for those relying on benefits or the NHS or the Home Office not to fucking deport them.” I mean, I almost admire the irony in those trying to use the “season of giving” to ignore voting for what has been and will no doubt be a good few seasons of taking.
The thing is I didn’t comment as it’s not useful at this point. Instead we have to use this anger for something useful. To be honest, I don’t know enough about party politics to advise whats best for Labour peeps right now.
However, this is what I have so far what we can do practically:
Support charities. Lord knows the government will not be funding them or people in need, so if you can afford to, set up direct debits/donate. Here are a few I’ll be supporting:
Shelter (housing/homelessness)
Scope (disability equality)
Greenpeace (environment)
Arts Emergency (working class people in the arts)
Stonewall (LGBTQ+)
Mermaids (trans children/young people)
Refuge (domestic violence)
Mind (mental health)
If you can’t afford to, that’s fine. A lot of these charities offer other ways to help, so if you managed to canvass you can try to do at least one volunteering shift.
Also Citizen’s Advice is a really helpful free service in terms of benefits, laws etc and you can volunteer for them too!
(Also if you have any more charity recs please tweet/comment and I’ll share)
Join a union.
It looks like a good proportion of the government will not be fighting for us so we have to band together for our rights. Joining a union is one of the best ways to know you have people behind you, and if you have time you can become a rep and fight for other people in your workplace.
Support vulnerable creators.
Disabled people have and will be some of the hardest hit by Tory austerity and benefit measures, so if you have the chance to support them, even by buying a badge or card, do it. Otherwise share what you can.
(If you are an artist needing supporting, please message/comment so I can share your work)
Tell Government exactly what you think
Protesting is a good thing to do and do it if you can but it’s not viable for everyone. However, Government will often do consultations where they ask the public what they think on various potential policies and actions. At the moment they have 27 open ones at the moment including a legal framework for legal abortion in Ireland and police use on “unauthorised encampments”.
You can find them and leave your comments here
Take part in your community.
In a similar fashion, there is also a page on the Gov.uk website on how to take part directly within your community, including volunteering, becoming a local councillor, etc. Some of it seems a bit like Tories trying to get rid of responsibility but some of it will genuinely be useful, especially on a grassroots level.
Speak out and help where you can
This election, whilst awful, has proven there is a lot of us out there and we need to keep being heard so tweet, post and have those difficult conversations with colleagues, friends and family when you can. I still managed to change my conservative Nan’s vote after all.
In the end, we must speak out against injustice when we see it, defend those who need it and show compassion and generosity above all else. When they go low, we give them a verbal left hook and fuck them up (with kindness).
I hope this is helpful as I’m pretty pissed off but do give me your recommendations and share this where you can.
Happy holidays (I hope)!
Ruby