In the following article Kieran Breen, CEO of Leicestershire Cares, writing in a personal capacity, wonders whether the pandemic on top of the crash of 2008 and the growing climate crisis has created a tipping point, opening the door to a radical new politics.

Can the invisible hand help us wipe our bottoms? [read in full]

He begins:

As we entered 2020, I doubt if any of us imagined the UK caught in a pandemic that is threatening the health of the nation and devastating the global economy. Throw in the recent floods and growing concerns about climate change and it does feel like we are at a tipping point.As we plan to work from home, hunt down hand sanitiser and toilet rolls it might be a good opportunity to step back and ask “what sort of world do we want to live in and what sort of lives do we wish to live”?

He concludes:

There is such a thing as society. Inclusive communities where you feel safe and looked after, happy in the knowledge people have your back are a key component of a wealthy society. Can we proactively build on the goodwill that many have shown and start to rebuild communities, can we talk of “us” not “I” and seek to build bridges between people?
Can we now realise that gross inequalities destroy societies and creates many more issues beyond huge income and savings disparities? We need to think seriously and act quickly so that we create a far more level playing field and have safety nets to protect people who fall on hard times?

I am very aware that nothing I have written above is new or original. What I feel has changed is that the pandemic on top of the crash of 2008 and the growing climate crisis has created a tipping point. The market driven individual ideologies of the last 40 years have been shown to be sadly wanting, they cannot even let us wipe our bottoms. I am not advocating a return to 70’s socialism but a more inclusive and radical attempt to capture the spirit of the moment and to build a green new deal. One where business, community and government work together for the good of all.