Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Aug 04, 2025

Britain is becoming a GoFundMe nation, with the public doing the government's job

Britain is becoming a GoFundMe nation, with the public doing the government's job

By all means step in to feed children or raise money for the NHS, but never forget that the Tories’ aim is to shrink the state
After the government rejected Marcus Rashford’s latest initiative to extend free school meals, pledges came in from people and businesses across England to do it themselves. In my own London neighbourhood, in Brent, almost every single pub and cafe along the high street posted promises on social media to feed any children in need, discreetly and for an unlimited time.

The whole spontaneous wave of kindness and generosity made the government’s meanness seem even more gratuitous. Here was a cause that galvanised people across the country, resonating with everyone except those whose responsibility it is to care for vulnerable citizens.

This has been the theme of the past year. Obviously unjust, easily fixable policies are brought to the government’s attention with a plea to solve them, only for the request to be turned down, making them into a popular national cause that then forces the government’s hand. Every stage of the pandemic so far has featured a national outrage that followed a rejected appeal: the NHS surcharge, paid parking in hospitals for health service staff, the algorithm’s A-level results, no free school meals throughout the summer.

Boris Johnson emphatically declares the government’s position is not for turning one day, and then grants the request that he had previously asserted was out of the question. The impression is that of a flaky monarch preoccupied with things other than governance. His default position is to refuse any requests; but, once he realises that there is less of a headache in actually granting them, he capitulates.

Over the past year, there has been an extraordinary level of civic activity – lobbying, organising petitions, applying regular pressure in the media and now humiliating the ruling party. And by reaching into its own pockets to feed hungry children, the British public has now become an informal branch of the state.

It would be reasonable to suppose the expansion of our role into funders of services that should be provided by the government is an embarrassment for the Conservative party. Successive government U-turns expose a party that is besieged, haemorrhaging good will and stuck in a loop of bad PR. Even if it gives in on the latest school meals campaign, all that will remain is a bad taste in the mouth. The government’s record will be marked not by its relenting, but by all the headlines around the world about how it was brought to its knees by a young footballer, and a timeline of shame on Rashford’s social media.

But there is another scenario, in which the Tories realise there is a way to outsource state spending to the public and suffer only short-term bad press. Already forced to commit to more public spending than it ever would have contemplated in normal times, the government’s refusal to extend the paltry sums needed to extend the free schools meals programme is not a matter of money but of precedent. If the Tories can establish that the role of government is not in fact to feed children, and the public can do a fine job of it instead, then they kill two birds with one stone. Problems either go away or diminish through the efforts of private individuals, as does the expectation on them to address those problems.

Slowly, a parallel infrastructure has been developing over a decade of austerity, where we are poised to scramble and fulfil the urgent needs of hungry, homeless and sick people through food banks, voluntary immigration support and private donations to the NHS . There is no time to petition the king, who has made it clear that there are bigger matters for the court to attend to, and who tells us that we are doing a fine job of it without wasting the time and resources of government.

It is a common feature of corrupt regimes – when the people resign themselves to the fact that they are on their own, they develop all sorts of coping mechanisms. In my birth country of Sudan, most neighbourhoods fashioned such an efficient system for collecting and disposing of waste that when the government eventually started a trial waste-disposal scheme there was no rubbish to collect.

This is the essence of David Cameron’s “big society”: not a politics that empowers local communities in a redistribution of decision-making and resources from central government, but abdicating on the responsibilities of central government so that local communities have no choice but to pick up the pieces themselves.

All the while, the Conservative party can continue to hammer home the theme of fiscal responsibility and to entrench the view that it is the reluctant but determined arbiter between the deserving and undeserving poor, between those who are living on benefits as a lifestyle and those who are in genuine need, between immigrants abusing the system and those who are a useful addition to the British economy.

A new danger is on the horizon – that we become a GoFundMe nation. The Conservatives will look on and hand out honours to those who have galvanised the public to do the government’s work, but maintain their electoral prospects by casting themselves as the bulwark against the hordes of exploiters.

The NHS has already fallen to this readjustment of expectations as it leans ever more heavily on the likes of the knighted “Capt Tom”, private donations and volunteers, cheered on by a government that urges us to leave politics aside and come together as a nation.

We can do both. We will help the NHS. We will feed our neighbours’ children. But we should never forget that it’s not our job to do so.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Pilots Call for Mental Health Support Without Stigma
All Five Trapped Miners Found Dead After El Teniente Mine Collapse
Ong Beng Seng Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case Linked to Former Singapore Transport Minister
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
Italy Fines Shein One Million Euros for Misleading Sustainability Claims
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
Declassified Annex Links Soros‑Affiliated Officials and Clinton Campaign to ‘Russiagate’ Narrative
UK's Online Safety Law: A Front for Censorship
Nationwide Protests Erupt in Brazil Demanding Presidential Resignation
Parents Abandon Child at Barcelona Airport Over Passport Issue
Mystery Surrounds Death of Brazilian Woman with iPhones Glued to Her Body
Bus Driver Discovers Toddler Hidden in Suitcase in New Zealand
Switzerland Celebrates 734 Years of Independence Amid Global Changes
U.S. Opens Official Investigation into Former Trump Prosecutor Jack Smith
Leaked audio of Canada's new PM Mark Carney admitting the truth about the Net Zero agenda: "We're gonna make a lot of money off of this."
China Enforces Comprehensive Ban on Cryptocurrency Activities
Absolutely 100% Realistic EVO Series Doll by EXDOLL (Chinese Company) used mainly for carnal purposes
World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab: "In this new world, we must accept... total transparency. You have to get used to it. You have to behave accordingly. But if you have nothing to hide, you shouldn't be afraid."
Meet Mufti Hamid Patel, head of Office for Standards in Education in Pakistan
George Soros tells the World Economic Forum: "President Trump is a con man and the ultimate narcissist, who wants the world to revolve around him."
Hamas are STARVING the hostages.
Decline in Tourism in Majorca Amidst Ongoing Anti-Tourism Protests
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
Poland Begins Excavation at Dziemiany After New Clue to World War II‑Era Nazi Treasure
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Threatens Canada with Tariffs Over Palestinian State Recognition
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Trump Sues Murdoch in “Heavyweight Bout”: Lawsuit Over Alleged Epstein Letter Sets Stage for Courtroom Showdown
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
Trump Administration Finalizes Broad Tariff Increases on Global Trade Partners
J.K. Rowling Limits Public Engagements Citing Safety Fears
JD.com Launches €2.2 Billion Bid for German Electronics Retailer Ceconomy
Azerbaijan Proceeds with Plan to Legalise Casinos on Artificial Islands
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
×