Hi Gary. Thanks for taking the time to write. Things sound pretty bloody awful and I’m sure the last thing you need is to see the Labour Party imploding — the Labour party which is meant to be for all those people who will not be alright regardless of the outcome of a GE, the Labour party which is supposed to be on the side of the poor, the marginalised and all those who suffer unwarrented prejudice.

Of course you can use my letter — do whatever you like with it. There are huge and growing numbers of people, not just here/in Europe but all over the world who are sick of the preposterous and grotesque inequality perpetrated by a tiny wealthy elite and supported by governments across the globe who buy into the mantra that as long as there is ‘economic growth’ it simply doesn’t matter who benefits. Supported by armies of professional lobbyists, media moguls and old school networks of privileged individuals, they have the system pretty much stitched up, but more and more people are seeing their lives get progresively worse and more and more people are begining to feel passionate about the injustice of the situation.

So in the longer term I feel hopeful. I teach mainly 18–21 year olds and they give me hope: they know about the antics of the mainstream media, about the consequences of human made global warming and of bombing innocent people, about the extent of inequality and the housing crisis, about the good things the EU has to offer and much more, including an awareness of the damage that prejudice against a range of ‘others’ can do. They’re asking questions and not getting satisfactory answers.

I really hope Labour can find a way to genuinely unify — if both ‘sides’ could be locked in a room until they find a way to recognise that they want pretty much the same things and thrash out an agreed set of policies, the people of Britain would return in their droves as even ardent Tory supporters can see that things are not getting better for anyone outside of that tiny, greedy, uncaring minority.

I’m so sorry to hear of the abuse you get, it’s disgusting and I can’t begin to imagine how awful it must feel... I hope you’re as ok as you can be and that things improve for you (and everyone else) sooner rather than later.

Best,

Russell