A speech made in Parliament by Tory lockdown sceptic Charles Walker has inexplicably gone viral, almost three weeks after he gave it. The member for Broxbourne addressed the lockdown debate on January 6 with an impassioned plea to think of those less fortunate who endure great hardship when stay at home orders are given: "These are people who are going to be worrying about their jobs, about their future, about their mental health, about their family relationships because they will miss people terribly". He added that 'sadly, some of these people are going to break', a reference to the inevitable rise in mental health problems and suicide as a direct result of the restrictions. It's worth noting that accurate suicide statistics are exceptionally difficult to obtain right now, apparently because inquests are subject to delays (but strangely we have Covid statistics streaming out of our TVs on a daily basis).
In his speech Walker singled out sneering journalists for particular criticism, but he was speaking about a much greater demographic ie. largely middle class lockdown enthusiasts who are able to work from home and appear unwilling, unable or just plain ignorant about the plight of those who are stuck in much smaller accommodation such as high rises or bedsits, with no access to green space, who may be already be unemployed, have no access to the internet, have existing mental health issues or who are just desperately lonely.
Click below for the speech in full.
This is the kind of speech that resonates with blue collar workers, many of whom will be jobless and struggling as a result of coronavirus restrictions. Walker's stern criticism of the metropolitan elite speaks to the red wall and puts Labour to shame. Where is the party of the workers?
The truth is that today's Labour Party is overwhelmingly run by wealthy elites who couldn't care less about blue collar workers and are more concerned with woke middle class crusades that alienate and mock the working classes. And when Labour activists express surprise and an inability to explain how or why this demographic continues to abandon them they expose the delusion of the modern left. The leaders they have consistently elected for decades have all been millionaires who never held a proper job in their lives. Labour no longer speak for the workers, because they don't speak to the workers.
