Politics and Protest

A fortnight back, complaining about
having to wait behind two others
to use the cashpoint

Now, happy to stand all day and night
to file past a box
with a crown and a cushion on top

and inside, the body of
someone you never knew -
it's the nearest you could ever get to her

It's the ultimate display of Britishness:
an awesome combo of
queueing and deference

Companies have suspended polluting the air
Governments have suspended cutting our care

Energy firms have suspended price rises
Landlords have suspended nasty surprises

Employers have suspended exploiting our labours
Lobbyists have suspended cashing in favours

Bosses have suspended giving the sack
Oh, they haven't? So, why have we suspended fighting back?

Walk down locked and empty streets alone,
arrive for start of shift, it's bear-the-brunt time
to serve some others' families not your own
Going from the home front to the frontline

Frozen pay, now tiny, ice-cold 'offers', 
red-bordered bills alert approaching deadline
The firing line ignites key workers' coffers
Going from the frontline to the breadline

We've put our products' prices up,
that's what we chose to do
The power firms are doing it,
so we can do it too

We're going to charge a fair chunk more
to everyone who buys
If they won't pay our higher rates,
we'll cut off our supplies

We need the extra income for
the bigger bills we get
And that's how we will justify
the tariffs that we set

Heat less, eat less, fry less, buy less, waste less, taste less, nosh less, wash less, bath less, laugh less, phone less, own less, chance less, dance less, rave less, save less, drink less, think less, smoke less, be broke less, shout less, go out less, keep less, sleep less, groom less, consume less, pay less, holiday less, need less, breed less, give less, live less …

after Gershwin's song from Porgy and Bess

---

Summertime 

and the cost of livin' ain't easy

Bills are jumpin'

and prices are high

Oh, the bosses are rich

and the workers are strugglin'

But hush, little baby

don't you cry

One of these mornin's,

you're going to wake up strikin'

There was I, a few minutes ago, minding my own business, awaiting the announcement of my platform at King's Cross, when over the PA came the voice of Michael Portillo wishing the station a happy birthday.

So, might I just point out that ...

===

Jeremy Westlake

has the second best take

He's in charge of the cash

and makes sure he gets a big stash

Andrew Haines

carefully explains

That his £593,000 pay is not a perk -

He really is worth twenty of the people who do the actual work

---

*Chief Executive Officer of Network Rail

Grant Shapps

He talks and he craps

But often gets confused

About which end he's used