We still let big business dictate what we can buy, at what price, and on whatever terms they see fit to impose:  food, water, gas, electricity, transport, housing, banking… you name it. All in the interest of ‘free markets’ and ‘competition’ rather than making sure everyone has a fair and decent standard of living – and a job – in our ‘civilised’ western democracy.
Is this REALLY what we want for ourselves in the 21st century?

But wait a moment. Is there a common thread running through all of these things?

Could it be anything to do with the politicians and the rich using the powers of State to divide and control us?
Removing our right to protest against those to whom WE gave power in the first place?
The right to proper free speech? (…not just the usual whimper of middle-class journalists, more concerned with how clever they are than wanting to CHANGE anything – heaven forbid).
REAL free speech, REAL freedom and REAL democracy – not the poor imitations we ‘re fobbed off with at the moment?
The right to strike, protest and to REMOVE any government that doesn’t represent its own citizens?

More importantly, are we too repressed to CHANGE anything after centuries of putting up with the ruling classes and being force-fed with their IMITATION democracy?
Are we too ‘British’… too ‘civilised’ to kick up a fuss?

Whether we compare 2009 to 1984, 1884,  or even 1684, the British people are still exploited by the same self-seeking politicians, ‘aristocrats’ and the rich: all of whom have gained power and wealth for centuries at our expense.
Things will never change unless we MAKE them change, and for good this time.
After all, the French don’t put up with it – and haven’t done so since la Revolution.   Why should we?
It’s a big idea, and it won’t happen overnight, but it can be done.

Well, let’s make it sooner than that and have an early summer this year, shall we?

And while we’re at it, how about protesting against the vulture capitalism of bankers and financiers, screwing British citizens and then expecting us to pay for its mistakes?
Watch this space for events.

It seems that companies would rather give jobs to foreigners without English language skills, to illegal immigrants who will keep their mouths shut about low pay, or to young people with no experience and a poor standard of education.
Our banks, shops, supermarkets, restaurants and other businesses are full of staff who can’t communicate properly because their first language isn’t English, or who are semi-literate with no social skills and couldn’t care less about good customer service.
But these cheap-to-employ and easy-to-sack staff don’t encourage us as customers to return and buy from the business again.
Is this why the country is in such a mess?  We know it’s to save money, cut costs and improve the ‘bottom line’… but ultimately it’s a short-term benefit and a false economy. Current employment laws on ageism are totally ineffective and need to be reinforced.  The trouble is, it’s hard to prove you’ve been discriminated against.
Government needs to act now
The over-50s have to adopt a different approach and it’s here that government can do something constructive.   Employers need better incentives to employ mature candidates (the ‘New Deal 50+’ scheme sounds like a good idea but doesn’t work), and the over-50s need grants and support to set up in business for themselves and employ others in the same boat.  At the moment there’s too much red tape and waffle, and not enough action.
The British Citizen aims to do something about this in the near future, so watch this space.

In the meantime, tell us about your experience of ageism in the workplace / employment market.  We’ll be publishing a ‘name and shame’ list of guilty employers and recruitment agencies who claim to have ‘lost’ your CV or application.

As if giving the jobs to any foreigners at all wasn’t bad enough.

To make matters worse, we don’t appear to have done anything at all to expel them from the UK.  Only 35 out of 7,729 of the immigrants have been deported so far.

3,275 of those used a false name or National Insurance number when applying for jobs, according to information revealed in answers to Parliamentary questions.

The Home Office was criticised more than a year ago in 2007, when it was ‘discovered’ that basic checks were not being done to see if job applicants were entitled to work in the UK.

It seems that twelve illegals were actually approved for security jobs with the Metropolitan Police, including one found to be guarding the Prime Minister’s car.  

Perhaps with the state of the country as it is, Brown couldn’t be sure that a British guard would actually bother to protect him from his own citizens, never mind terrorists?