Candyfloss & Dreams

Category: Politics

Another Post on Politics

General Election December 12th. Regardless of if you agree with me or not, please vote. If you are registered and able. Please vote. Please do not be one of the people that say “my voice doesn’t matter anyway” because we all know there are more people in the country that choose not to vote or spoil their vote when they can make a difference. Millions of people think and feel like that and if you are registered and able you are doing every person that can not vote for whatever reasons, particularly your children who are underage, a disservice.

As much as I put myself as very left wing, feminist and one for equal rights and opportunities for all I am going to try and take a different approach to this post. I am voting the way I am because I want to see change, I believe in the manifesto and I believe this general election is the chance to do so. If you are reading this post then I urge you to read all the manifestos or if you want a summary then consider Simple Politics on Facebook and Instagram which offer plenty of summaries.

Please do not listen to the papers or polls because there is no way to tell how true, ethical or representative they are. Finding an unbiased place of information is important and should really help you with making your decision if you are on the fence. The recent debates are also a good place to listen to what the leaders and senior members of the political parties are saying and pledging. I wouldn’t really bother with the one on one interviews because the interviewer has an agenda they want to get across. Debates are usually more balanced, have questions from a variety of people of different beliefs and cultures and therefore probably a bit more honest.

This election really seems to be about Brexit for so many people but it is honestly bigger than that. I have written about what I felt about Brexit a few years ago and now, quite frankly, I’m sick of the word. I think Labours approach is really fair, as a “classic remoaner” and actually puts it back to the people. Because let’s be honest Westminster has been very distant with us about this, they have not brought the country back together and perhaps a Peoples vote where whatever deal the EU negotiates comes back to the people is quite reasonable considering no one else can make up their minds.

Another great place to look to consider who to vote for is looking at each MP’s voting history for particular options you care about. The thing about politics and general elections is that we are never going to get someone perfect. There will never, ever be a prime minister that is a one size fits all. We are all different, with different beliefs, backgrounds, culture and class structures. The best thing you can do is consider voting for the party that most aligns with what your personal principles are.

The last ten years have been difficult for many people. We have both a growing and aging population which is leading to strains on our public services as well as a true lack of funding for all of these. When it comes to society and public services we all have a duty not to take advantage, particularly with the NHS, but when cuts are being made all over the place but there are more people to protect, look after and make well it’s very difficult for the people in those professions. What’s more is it stops people wanting to do these jobs. It’s all very well promising loads of new nurses, doctors, police officers etc but if people don’t want to do those jobs because it doesn’t offer security like it used to then we can only fill them by outsourcing.

I am not the most educated political person but I do take an interest in what’s going on and I do have to look outside the manifesto pledges and question the how with these big numbers. Most of them make sense to me when it comes to funding. If you raise minimum wage, you lower benefit payments because people don’t need them as they have enough to live on so the government recaps the money. If you nationalise the trains and electric grid, then the government recaps the money. If you invest sensibly into things that are guarenteed returns then the goverment recaps the money. If you give people affordable housing, affordable public transport and affordable electrical and broadband bills then people spend more of their disposable income, invest more disposable income, save more money and most importantly shop more which means more money back into the economy.

The thing is we have a lot of very wealthy people in this country but we have a huge amount of working poor too. It isn’t fair to continue poverty shaming these people who are working but do not earn enough. It’s heartless and unacceptable to say “get another job” – what if they’re a single parent and can only work during childcare available hours, but the childcare hours are stretched during the year to include half terms and the six weeks summer holidays? It’s not 30 hours a week then, I think it’s actually around 22 hours a week which then means the working parent can only commit to that amount of hours a week. What if it’s two people and one has to work nights because of childcare? What if they are undergraduates saving to move out of their parents house because there aren’t enough jobs and the low paid ones make saving hard? What if its just an unqualified person at age 25 that just wants to leave their old teenage bedroom and is scrimping and saving for a new home?

We don’t know anyone else’s personal lives or reasons they do things so saying sweeping statements like ‘get another job’ is so pointless and unobtainable. In political debates its very often we see angry, hate filled language and it’s because people are angry that this happens. I am angry too, for lots of reasons but mainly because I don’t trust the government we have had for the last 9 years that has been a complete misery to live in as a working class woman and mother. For the vast majority of these years I’ve been self employed because it was the only balance between childcare and earning money.

It doesn’t matter how I feel really, I will vote my way in December and I really hope you will vote too. I mean I won’t lie, I don’t want to see another Tory government in all honesty. What I’d love to see stop is this breakdown of families and friendships because of political beliefs. I mean, it’s all very well disagreeing however, I am not going to stand for classist, ageist and racist comments from people I know because that’s not needed. And I want this to be known, my issue, my anger, is directed at the last government and a Prime Minister that I do not feel is capable of leading a society and country based on equality for all.

November 30, 2019
Being Zero Waste is Hard if you’re Poor

It’s #plasticfreejuly which means lots of people are discussing all of the ways you can be more plastic free and more sustainable and more eco friendly. However, with the growing attitude that we need to do more in this climate crisis I can’t help but feel that it is providing a bit of a toxic attitude between those that can do something and those that can’t.

Don’t get me wrong, the more eco friendly and plastic free and spend free you can be the better but I think it’s important to remember that being zero waste and eco friendly right now is not sustainable because it isn’t inclusive. It will only be truly sustainable if everyone can be as eco friendly as possible.

I read all these amazing stories about families, mostly middle class families with two incomes in well respected and well paid jobs, that save up and quit their lives to go off the grid. They are inspirational of course but I couldn’t do that. We can barely save for Christmas let alone a house deposit and let alone going completely off the grid. Being zero waste is not worth getting into debt for, racking up credit card bills for. Do you, do the best you can do with what you have.

You can only do what you can afford, and that is fine.

Firstly, whilst I am thankful that I do not live on the breadline anymore I am not exactly middle class. My partner is on a zero hour contract for one and whilst his wage is okay, he works through the night. I am self employed but there are days I go without earning money and my wage is, for the most part, very part time. However, I can afford to cut down on my waste, plastic use and general consumption in this society.

I also feel that as individuals we all have a duty to care about and respect the planet we live in and it’s very hard to be completely inclusive with something that is very clearly a class issue. I wanted to write this post to help share that it isn’t down to the individual to make eco friendly the go to, it’s down to the government and the greedy corporations desperate for profit to make huge changes. You shouldn’t blame someone for making a single use plastic choice if that is all they can afford. You can bang on all you like about how you save money in the long term but if you don’t have the money upfront to make huge changes then you can’t make them.

I also feel that a lot of people, especially families, already do quite a lot which you might not see or acknowledge as being zero waste. They might always buy second hand, in charity shops, sell things they don’t need and rely on hand me downs to dress their children. However, they may also have to rely on supermarket clothing, a big part of fast fashion, because it is cheap. Especially if they have children that consistently need new school uniform. Poor people are more likely to make sure no food is wasted because they can’t afford to waste anything. Whilst refill shops might be a great alternative they are few and far between, not always easy to get to and are going to be more expensive.

Being poor isn’t exactly a choice in a capatalist society with over a million families and households relying on foodbanks

Lower income families are already at risk of so many things because they are poor and are forced to buy cheap, plastic, processed food and household products. This is because of how inaccessible eco friendly, plastic free products are to them so we really need to stop putting the blame on the person and start putting the blame on the people that actually can make a change. Do you not think you might be making them feel even more guilt and shame about their purchasing choices if you keep telling them about your middle class eco friendly zero waste refill station?

We can all only do what we can do. If you can’t swap to everything because you can’t afford to then that is fine. If you can afford it then brilliant. I am not saying to stop the conversations because they are important but I am saying to stop the shame and blame game because not everyone can afford to be eco friendly.

And If you want to shame and blame someone here’s what you can do

Sign every petition you can to get eco friendly plastic free products sustainable and inclusive to everyone

When you donate to food banks/refuges/period poverty boxes then make sure the products are plastic free. Even though it doesn’t contribute to a reduction in landfill it still makes these products accessible to people in need and you may find that these places do not accept reusables.

Get your nursery to use reusable wipes in place of disposables. That in itself would be a huge reduction in terms of things going to landfill and would save parents that having to send in disposables and therefore using less and saving themselves a bit of money.

Petition your local MP/Council about a cloth nappy scheme in the area to make these more affordable for all parents. These work successfully around the country but they aren’t in all areas. This can often mean subsidised cloth nappy kits and even better if you can get a group of cloth nappy friends to start a cloth nappy library – which again, aren’t in every single area.

Plastic Free swaps you can make

If you are living on the breadline or on a low income then there are some things that you might be able to change but please do not feel guilty if you can’t. I have been homeless, I have relied on food banks and I have been swimming in debt on the breadline. It is hard. It is hard when single use plastic is basically you’re only option.

Washing powder in a cardboard box – I used to get this from poundland because it was all I could afford.

Buy products in tins/jars/glass/cardboard & paper over plastic.

Anything you can buy loose wrapped is great.

If you can afford it reusable wipes can be a great swap as it’s not too expensive to change over. All you need is a mesh bag, plastic box and a set of wipes. It is one of the things that I can genuinely say has saved me money because wipes are a few pound a week.

Cloth nappies – it does not have to be all or nothing. If you can afford to buy one a month then gradually swapping out is fantastic. They also have excellent resell value. They can be anywhere from £7-£18 per nappy brand new however look for them second hand. I started with a set of second hand ones which have been really helpful.

There seems to be a big thing about plastic straws. My argument would be do you really need straws, if you do then fine, I am fully aware that some individuals with additional needs may need and rely on plastic bendy disposable straws, but if you don’t really need them then just not buying them is better than converting to a metal straw or bamboo ones.

Can you afford to change energy suppliers? We have changed to ecotricity, a green supplier, and we pay by electric key metre topping up weekly or two weekly. It is not much difference money wise. You can compare prices and if it’s about the same money wise and you can afford the swap then this might be a great alternative for you.

Being zero waste is a luxury and it’s not sustainable if it isn’t truly inclusive and affordable for everyone.

My point really is that not everyone can afford being zero waste or eco friendly or plastic free. The single working mum might not be able to try and buy several menstrual cups before she finds one that fits. Those that buy plastic straws could do for accessible reasons. Cloth nappies are very expensive and not everyone can afford to buy a kit outright. Plastic is in and covering everything, it’s cheap and easy to produce. Fast fashion is damaging but if you’ve got kids growing and you need to get them clothes you’re going to turn to the cheapest and most affordable way. It’s not even about kids, if you happen to be poor and fat you’re not left with a lot of choices either.

Let’s continue educating because some people who want to make the swap might not know what they can change. Let’s continue spreading awareness so those that can afford to be more eco friendly can do even more than they’re currently doing. But most importantly let’s collectively agree to stop shaming the individual whose circumstances we do not fully know or understand and instead put more pressure on corporations and the government to make zero waste, low emission, eco friendly living an inclusive lifestyle for every single person.

On a lasting note the point of being zero waste is having less. So if you can’t afford the alternatives but you do want to try and do something, look for ways you can reduce your waste, reuse as much as you can, mend things as you go and recycle as much as you can.

July 12, 2019
The CRUK Advertisement Campaign IS dangerous

As a fat person I am discriminated against. I feel like I have less discrimination than others because I’m not as marginalised as some, I’m a mum that’s had two c-sections and I’ve constantly said how ashamed I am of my body. The truth is if I go to the doctors for ANY reason I will be told I am fat and that will fix my problems. Over the years GP’s have dismissed my health, my anxiety, my post-natal depression, my wellbeing, my contraception choices because I am fat. They have refused to help me apart from telling me to be thin. Even at my cervical screening I was told I was too fat by a nurse. Not for the cervical screening (which was absolutely fine) but just that I was too fat.

View this post on Instagram

HOLD CRUK ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR STIGMATISING CAMPAIGN// Reading through the comments on my post from Monday about the new @cr_uk campaign put it into sharp focus how much hurt and pain this campaign has caused. Along with a team of wonderful colleagues across health care, academia and fat activism, we have crafted a considered response to CRUK calling for the immediate cessation of this campaign. We have written an open letter which published this morning on Medium. We also felt it was important to capture how people have been affected by this and to give them something to actually *do* about it. Therefore we have also created a petition that you can sign in support of the 5 action point on the second slide (swipe 👉). You can also leave a comment underneath to share your experiences of this campaign, which we will then pass along to CRUK (as they somehow are still adamant it’s not harmful 🤨). Please share the petition as far and wide as is humanly possible. Link where links go.

A post shared by Laura Thomas, PhD, RNutr (@laurathomasphd) on Jul 5, 2019 at 12:40am PDT

I know I am fat. I have known for a long time. I have known through the starvation, the food deprivation, the binge eating, the yo-yo dieting, the body shame, the body hatred, the self harm, the depression, the tears in the mirror, the guilt for feeling hungry. The well meaning thoughts from family that “if you just lost weight” the “oh don’t say that about yourself” conversations. I am fat and it’s none of your business.

I am fat but I don’t get sick very often. I am fat but I walk plenty, I love swimming and my blood pressure is fine. I am fat but I absolutely hate pizza. I am fat but I’m giving up dairy and cutting down on meat because I don’t like it. I am fat but I love aqua zumba. I am fat but actually I am very capable of making wellbeing choices for myself. It’s only when I stop the guilt and the shame and focusing on the happiness and self love that I make better choices, that I listen to what my body craves.

The thing is though, BMI is a load of crap – you can have a high BMI and be made of pure muscle so how can a BMI accurately detect obesity if it’s to do with fat? It’s an outdated measurement. So how can a high BMI = fat = cancer? Diet can play a massive part in the cell changes that lead to cancer but a thin person can eat junk food? So how can that mean fat = cancer? I don’t smoke, I don’t drink, I walk, I swim, my diet isn’t the best but it’s not constantly fueled by junk food & fried food. There are some cancers in my family but it isn’t as rife as it is in others. So my real risk factor is my BMI which I will agree is higher due to fat not muscle, but BMI is one of the lowest “causes” of cancer?

This campaign doesn’t make sense.

I’ve just watched a lovely blogger friend of mine, Emma from Island Living 365 go through chemo for bowel cancer. She’s had two operations in quick sucession. She is a lovely person who from what I can see has a really active, fun lifestyle. She did race for life whilst going through treatment!

It just goes to show that cancer can affect you if you are the healthiest, thinnest person in the world. Cancer can affect anyone. Blaming obesity and comparing it to smoking is dangerous. This campaign will put fat people off from going to the doctors, going to cervical screenings, going for check ups, ignoring their body.

I strongly recommend you read this open letter by Laura Thomas and a group of health professionals, acedemics and people who want to change the stigma on weight. If you agree with the contents of the letter then please sign the petition to get this damaging campaign removed before it ruins lives. Because it will. It absolutely will.

July 8, 2019
This Is For Girls, And That Is For Boys

I can’t even begin to tell you how much rage “that’s for girls, that’s for boys” makes me feel. Pretty angry to be honest, especially when it’s said to my daughter. I remember learning about gender stereotypes when I was 14 and it shook me then with so much anger. I was determined that if I ever had children, and at 14 I was pretty adamant I never would, never tell them something was for girls and something was for boys because it is a massive lie. A teacher got us to look through the Argos catalogue and see who was playing with trains and mechanic sets and who was playing with dolls and kitchens. It’s still done to this day. It is reinforcing that girls are the homemakers, the babymakers, the cooks, cleaners, the mothers and that’s all they are good for. It’s showing that boys will grow up to do and be, and girls will be left behind. Girls and boys can play, do, be whatever they want to be. They have choices. That is just a simple fact that so many people want to battle against. So many people say oh no you can’t play with that. But what really annoys me most is that it’s not really my daughter that’s told she can’t do this, that or the other but other little boys who are told they can’t play with “girls” things.

I mean, I have an incredibly pink daughter. She loves dressing up, collecting Shopkins and colouring. She also runs incredibly fast, is super strong and active, is fearless and eats so much food. I am talking all the food here. She isn’t afraid to throw a ball around, she gets filthy and have I said she runs fast? She has so much energy. She can be quite reserved at times and yes I suppose I would describe her as feminine. When I was growing up my sister was not the same as me. I was quite feminine growing up and my sister was not. She was boisterous, she threw things, she liked football and can I just say she’s was really good at it. She was a bit scruffy, she doesn’t really do makeup and the first time I saw her in a dress (where she didn’t negotiate carrying a toy gun and a sheriffs badge) was her prom at sixteen. I have never heard anyone say to her that she shouldn’t play football and she should dress nicer because she’s a girl. I don’t really think the issue is with girls.

Now I believe that every parent makes the right decision for bringing up their children. I also believe that children will pick the toys they want to play with. I know a lot of boys that choose cars over dolls and a lot of girls that do the opposite. I know some that do both. Neither option is wrong and children should be free to choose. I know that there are girls that like “girly” things and there are boys that want to hulk smash and play cars all the time. That is completely fine. What I absolutely hate is when my daughter hears that something is for girls, and something is for boys. That boys shouldn’t play with dolls, with makeup, with dressing up things. It doesn’t matter if they’re not interested in it, please don’t say that some things are for girls in front of my daughter. Please don’t say that boys can’t do this, that or the other. It is a horrible thing to say.

What you are effectively saying to my daughter when you say boys can’t play with this, is that only girls should. It’s reinforcing gender stereotypes. It’s so much bigger than just girls and boys playing with toys. Saying it over and over and over is going to make my daughter believe that if she ever sees a boy playing with something he shouldn’t she will feel it’s wrong. You are pushing your stereotypes onto my child and that is not how I parent. I never, ever tell her things are just for boys and just for girls because it is not true. I want my daughter to grow up confident in her own mind that she can do what she wants. If she wants to be a homemaker and raise loads of kids then I will love and support her choice, if she wants to have a city career I will help push her to the top and if she wants to do both then I will be there as her cheerleader.

If I ever have a son and he wants to play with dolls, dress up as a Disney princess and push prams I will buy him what he wants. If he wants to play video games, play football and run all the time I will support him and if he wants to do both then that is absolutely fine with me. I will never, ever tell him that he can’t have what he want’s because it’s “just for girls.” Just because he wants to do things that others might consider girly or feminine will not “turn him gay”. Do you know what it will do? It will lead him into a happy fulfilled life where he fully knows himself and isn’t at risk of suppressing how he feels. It will ensure that he is respectful to women and other men, that he will accept people for their choices that they make in their lives because he has been allowed to do so on his own.

The point is that there are some amazing men out in the world that are makeup artists, chefs, cooks and of course amazing fathers. There are women that are fantastic politicians, bankers, city careers and mothers at the same time. They became who they are because they were allowed to discover what they loved, hopefully free from stereotypes.

You can let your child play with whatever you want. But please don’t tell my daughter that this is for girls, and that is for boys.

September 4, 2017
A Change in British Politics
Like many, I have taken a real interest in British politics over the last few weeks. I have never thought of myself to be a person that is politically savvy. I’ve been old enough to vote in three general elections and the EU referendum although I’ve only ever voted in three of these occassions. I wrote a post about my feelings on Brexit last year as a remainer. I voted to remain and I accept the decision was not in my favour. I’m not hateful or bitter about the decision and all I can hope for now is a fair Brexit whenever that actually happens.

I also made it pretty clear that I was voting Labour in the recent election. I have no problems sharing my voting choice or political position, in fact, if anything this election has really made me think a lot about who I am as a person, what my principles are and what I want to be known to stand for. I accept that as a Labour voter, we lost the general election. I know, I stayed up all night watching the results come in and I celebrated each Labour seat taken. I had predicted a hung parliament around a week or so before the election took place so I kind of knew what to expect.

What I didn’t expect was a demand and supply agreement with the DUP and I am pretty sure most Conservative voters also didn’t vote for the result. I’ve also read a lot in the run up and aftermath of how, again, some voters are attacking those that voted differently, just like they did with Brexit. I am just sitting her quietly on a Sunday afternoon with my family, thinking about the future and the changes that might take place over the next few months positive that political reform is on the brink. We have cried out for a change in British politics over the last year. There have also been a lot of personal attacks from both sides of the fence which are unacceptable and inexcusable.
1. Saying Labour Voters don’t work and scrounge of the system.
  I saw family members share this across my social media and it really angered me. Mainly because we are Labour voters and we earn a living. I have also rejected benefits because I think the system is flawed. My partner works full time, and I work from home for sometimes many more hours than I would in an office job. A particular meme that went along the lines of “Labour voters turnout will be high until 5pm when the Tory voters come out of work.” How dare you make that assumption. There are Labour voters in university, in apprenticeships, in paid employment with zero hour contracts and you have the audacity to generalise them as non working benefit scum? I know of many Conservative voters who are not in paid employment and voted Tory for their own reasons. That is completely fine, voting for your chosen party is a personal choice but these sweeping generalisations are not funny and are unfair.
  
  It goes along with saying Labour voters are just spending all the tax payers money and with the cuts the Tories have put in to out of work benefits, that simply isn’t true.
2. The whole IRA terrorist sympathiser and therefore every Labour voter is a terrorist sympathiser too.
  Yep, I saw this one being passed around too a lot. Terrorism is inexcusable but the only person or group to blame, are the terrorists. The only thing politicians can do is attempt to keep peace. They can do this by funding the police. I have to admit, I’m a bit young to have felt the full force of what happened in Northern Ireland during the seventies and eighties. However, what really frustrates me is after all the smear campagin attempts through the tabloids (seriously, who reads these and believe them to be true?) which blasted this in people’s faces every single day and then we have a government formed with the DUP. I really don’t get it.
  
  3. This election is all about Brexit.
  No.
  Every single general election is about who will be prime minister and form a government for the next five years. The EU referendum was about Brexit, the snap election was about who will lead. It angers me when politicians assume the electorate are stupid and that is exactly what happened. Whilst I agree that a general election was unshakably the right thing to do, it was done for the wrong reasons. Part of me can’t help but feel a little sorry for Theresa May because I feel like she has a lot of bad eggs advising her on what she should be doing which has lead to so many U-Turn decisions. I want to celebrate a female Prime Minister but mostly, I want to celebrate the best person for the job and in this case I don’t think she was the right candidate. It frustrates me that she was a firm remain voter for Brexit and has decided that the public want a hard Brexit. We are a country divided right now and whilst the majority may have been with the Leave campaign, there were still a lot of people that voted remain. With such a small majority I don’t understand why that lead to the decision of a hard Brexit. Fair enough, good negotiations are needed with balanced, reasonable and functional arguments put forward. As far as I’m concerned there were just Leave or Remain on the EU ballot paper, not “And if so…would you like a hard or soft Brexit?”
  
  It makes leaving the EU sound like cooking an egg. Frankly, leaving the EU is a bit scrambled at the moment if you ask me.
I don’t know what the future holds but I am confident we will see another general election before it’s time. However, I think we should celebrate a few wonderful things about the last eight weeks or so.
1. Turnout was high. Some constituencies saw record numbers which is fantastic. However you vote, the fact that you turned up and had your say was amazing.
2. Young people are getting interested in politics. I was so proud of the arguments both my sisters had for voting the way they did. I wish politics came into school at a younger age because we do live in a democracy and every voice is important. I hope this turns politics back into everyone’s game rather than the 35+ electorate.
3. We finally found out the naughtiest thing Teresa May has ever done which has actually been a highlight for every single voter.
June 11, 2017