There’s a lot to say about the Grenfell Tower fire. Upwards of 30 deaths have been confirmed with a suspected 150 more, due to the fire that swarmed through the place on Thursday. What initially got people out of the building was Muslims observing Ramadan who were already awake and preparing food smelling the smoke and knocking on doors. Neighbouring communities and people all over the country have been doing their best to help, by offering up homes, setting up fundraisers, donating clothes, food, blankets. Whenever tragedy strikes, we British seem to be quite good at supporting each other. But why do we have to wait for the tragedy? Why is it that we have to wait for something awful to happen before we can truly be nice to one another?
Here’s the harsh truth: the Tories could have stopped this from happening. Just a few years ago, panelling was added to the outside of the building that should have been fire retardant, but that would’ve cost an extra £5,000, so the council decided it wasn’t worth it since the devastating austerity cuts that swept the country took away funding for the most run down places. Again, we’re faced with the problem of a Conservative government believing profit is worth more than the lives of human beings. Hundreds of Tory MPs voted against a housing law that a) would’ve made the flats in Grenfell habitable, and b) could have prevented this fire from spreading so far and killing so many people. Anger filled residents who survived have been telling news stations that there were no sprinklers or fire alarms in the tower block. Akala, a musician, eloquently said in a video for Channel 4, “this happened to them because they were poor.” And every inch of that is the truth. This doesn’t happen to the rich. The rich aren’t dumped in uninhabitable housing and left there to rot whilst the people at the top dodge tax and steal from the poor. Rich people aren’t told their homes are an eyesore to everyone around them. They’re not denied government aid or places in good schools. The prejudice against poor people is real and so much more evident.
People justify such a prejudice with the idea that maybe the shame attached with it will motivate poor people to work, but how is this—a tragedy of catastrophic proportions—supposed to motivate anyone? It is a disgusting display of democracy gone wrong. Every second the Conservative party spends in power is a national shame and an insult to the people who have lost their lives because of venomous austerity policies. Austerity has a higher body count than any of us can scarcely imagine, yet the Conservatives and their supporters still see it as necessary for “growth.” Maybe I’m just angry, or maybe every person who has voted Conservative in the past 10 years should know what it feels like to be ashamed. That blistered tower in the sky is the Conservative monument. That tower is the wreckage of austerity. If you are not horrified, you are not paying attention.
