G8

Saw the G8 summit on the news. The Tories hosting all these world leaders at some five star resort in Northern Ireland. Fancy hotel, golf course, the lot.

And I’m sat here thinking - people are using food banks and they’re having this at a luxury resort? Someone in uni told me that his brother moved out and now his mam is having to pay bedroom tax. Got to pay extra or move house. Been there twenty years. But yeah, let’s have a summit at a golf resort.

They’re talking about tax evasion apparently. Making sure people pay their taxes. Which is rich coming from a government that lets Starbucks and Amazon pay basically nothing. But sure, crack down on benefit fraud instead. That’s definitely the priority.

The Tories reckon it’ll bring in billions from trade deals. Great. Where’s that going then? Not seeing any of it. Still can’t get a job. Still watching my family struggle. Still hearing about cuts to everything.

The news showed them all arriving. Obama, Putin, all of them. Big security operation, millions spent on it probably. And they’re telling us there’s no money for the NHS? No money for schools? But there’s money for this?

I don’t really get international politics. Maybe this stuff matters. But it feels like they’re in a completely different world to the rest of us. They don’t know what it’s like to actually be skint. To worry about bills. To see your parents stressed about money all the time.

People are going hungry and they’re at a five star hotel talking about trade. Just feels wrong.