Opinion

Tom Kelly: Theresa May landslide win would bury us all

Tom Kelly

Tom Kelly

Tom Kelly is an Irish News columnist with a background in politics and public relations. He is also a former member of the Policing Board.

Conservative party leader Theresa May during the Conservative Party manifesto launch in West Yorkshire PICTURE: Danny Lawson/PA
Conservative party leader Theresa May during the Conservative Party manifesto launch in West Yorkshire PICTURE: Danny Lawson/PA Conservative party leader Theresa May during the Conservative Party manifesto launch in West Yorkshire PICTURE: Danny Lawson/PA

Be worried, very worried. The Tories have outlined their party manifesto and if you are part of the ordinary five eighths walk on because there's nothing there for you.

Yet bizarrely, tens of thousands of British working class voters will, lemming like, walk into polling stations and vote Conservative.

Cunningly the Tories have appealed to that old scoundrel patriotism. They are wrapping their flag around immigration and against Johnny Foreigner. It is UKIP with posh accents. If you want to discover just how committed the parson's daughter is to Northern Ireland you will have to look hard, very hard.

For a start at the manifesto launch as the PM stood before an azure backdrop, it proudly boasted the slogan 'A stronger Britain - a prosperous Future - Forward Together.' Not a stronger Britain and Northern Ireland. Not a stronger United Kingdom. No, just a stronger Britain.

Hardly surprisingly when she dropped into Northern Ireland for a quick 25-minute visit and had a random chat with those fine ladies from the Women's Institute.

Bizarrely for an agricultural show she noticeably avoided the Ulster Farmers' Union stand and managed a quick partisan photo-call with the DUP leader, whilst lecturing the local parties about getting back to the talks.

The Sinn Féin leadership claim they were not told about the trip. Their claim stacks up. Sinn Féin had a stand at the Balmoral show and they surely would have taken the opportunity to challenge the prime minister had they been invited to do so. It's de rigeur for Sinn Féin these days that they meet everyone from Prince Charles to the Queen so fitting in the Duchess of Downing Street would not have been a problem.

But this is a unionist government and it has long lost its compass as an honest broker amongst the Northern Ireland parties. There is no even hand in the Northern Ireland Office diplomacy these days. It's one of the reasons Sinn Féin abstaining from parliament suits the Tories - they don't have to pay them any attention each week.

If Scottish nationalists in the SNP took the same attitude as Sinn Fein Scotland's cause would never be heard outside of Westminster. Nationalism isn't diminished by going to Westminster, on the contrary as O'Connell on Emancipation, Parnell on Home Rule, Fitt on the Civil Rights and Hume on the totality of relationships found, British governments particularly Tory administrations had to be won around face to face.

But back to the Tories, they are going to dismantle much of what we take for granted. On taxes, they have given no commitment on pegging the rates of income tax or national insurance. On social care, the prime minister is introducing a 'death tax' by the back door. The cap brought in by David Cameron on care costs of £72,000 is to be dropped. Many thousands who live in modest homes and who may need care can forget about leaving their homes as nest eggs to children who already can't afford deposits for houses of their own because it’s going to be gobbled up as an asset after their death to pay for the care costs.

The commitments made by the previous Tory government to senior citizens about the value of their pensions being kept in line with inflation, average earnings or 2.5 per cent is to be dumped. A risky move as pensioners are more likely to vote. Most pensioners will also lose their entitlement to a winter fuel allowance under the new proposals. Hot school lunches are to be taken away from children in primary schools in a move reminiscent of Thatcher - the milk snatcher.

Add into the mix the ridiculous pledge to keep immigration to tens of thousands per year. A deliberate re-run of project fear over immigration that the Leave campaign exploited so well during the referendum. Despite the fact that industry chiefs say the Tory immigration figures are unrealistic, Mrs May would rather play the migrant card than listen to sense.

And then of course there is Brexit. Increasingly May & co look likely to take a kamikaze approach to the EU rather than a pragmatic one. This government hasn't even been honest about the true cost of Brexit or the slew of side deals they are having to cut with the pharma and automotive industries to keep them in the country.

This election is likely to end with a Tory landslide and whatever about Britain, Northern Ireland will remain off the radar.