This weekend, a group of enterprising vigilantes woke up and decided they were going to do the state’s job for them. Boarding the Bakerloo line, which these days gives the New York metro a run for its money when it comes to cleanliness, these guys began cleaning up the wall-to-wall graffiti.
It wasn’t a perfect job, you’d need proper industrial equipment for that, but it looked a hell of a lot better by the time they were finished. The act followed Robert Jenrick’s own attempt to take things in his own hands, when he filmed a viral video confronting those barging through TfL ticket gates with paying. These issues really matter. One of my base political ideologies is that of broken window theory. You have to deal with the little things, and the bigger anti-social and crime issues will, in many cases, take care of themselves.
If you’re like me and you pay any real attention to the state of Britain – in contrast to the likes of Susanna Reid or Emily Maitlis who exist in the la-di-da world of Soho house drinks, Daylesford organic, and black cabs – it is all too easy to get depressed about the state of Britain.
From the big things like the perma-failings of the NHS, erosion of free speech, the insufferable taxing of anyone attempting to create a nice life for themselves, the erosion of Britain as we know it thanks to both legal and illegal migration; to the ‘little things’ being highlighted by the tube cleaners at Looking For Growth.
All of this, I confess, frequently makes me ask myself why I don’t join the tens of thousands of Britons – of all incomes – packing it all in and buggering off to Australia, Dubai, or the United States.
At least once a week I imagine myself arriving in these lands, with better weather, more affordable housing, less stifling taxes, more proactive policing, and living a happier more contented life.
So why don’t I? Simply because I fundamentally remain hopeful that Britain is not finished – and the actions of our tube cleaning friends remind me why.
Despite all the hundreds of truly existential problems facing our great country, so many of them are fundamentally fixable.
We could deal with graffiti, litter, antisocial behaviour and vandalism with very little extra spending by the state and councils. There just has to be the political will power to achieve it.
We overcomplicate everything the state does, or should do. As Kemi Badenoch spoke about last week, there are some day one essentials the next successful government has to deal with, such as the suffocating amount of lawfare, regulation, public consultation obligations and environmental protections.
But once you get that out of the way with one or two pieces of legislation, I truly believe the world can once again be our oyster.
The state too obese to function, which is why I believe we will see more of the Looking For Growth-style public activism, picking up where the state simply can’t be bothered. We ourselves can be the metaphorical Joe Wicks to our lumbering, out of breath institutions.
I hope we can at least. It’s this belief that our problems can still be fixed that keep me here, motivated, and cheering on those doing their bit as real 21st century patriots.