Thatcherism is rightly remembered and cited as the cause of many of the ills that dog us to this day. David Cameron might not be acknowledged to be worthy of an “ism” so far, but his time in office has been as damaging as that of Margaret Thatcher. Perhaps it is because his policies have taken time to show their true long-term destructive effects.
The poor insulation of so many of our houses should have been improved years ago – with massive payback now – but that initiative was dismissed by him as “green crap”. The legacy of this is the antipathy shown towards energy saving measures in the recent “energy strategy”.
The indiscriminate cutting of so-called red tape at all costs by his government, with the “one in, one/two/three out” mandate for new regulations (along with a desire not to upset the building industry), appears likely to have contributed to the severity of the Grenfell Tower fire. Hundreds of properties and thousands of people are still at risk because safety was sacrificed so that businesses could prosper.
The snowball effects of the austerity measures introduced by Cameron’s chancellor, George Osborne, are still – and increasingly – inflicting damage on the physical and mental health of so many.
Finally, for the time being, the simplistic EU membership referendum and its unplanned-for outcome is another slowly unfolding disaster for the United Kingdom, the full and true cost of which will possibly never be reckoned.
Perhaps “Cameronism” will one day be acknowledged as a thing and commemorated in the fullness of time – in some hall of shame.
Stuart Pringle
Alyth, Perth and Kinross
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