British people angry at failing govt. policies: Analyst

The recent decision by the UK to leave the European Union (EU) showed the British people’s anger at the government for its failures to offer better living standards, says a professor and political analyst in London.

Dr. Rodney Shakespeare made the comments in an interview with Press TV on Sunday, while discussing the reports that showed a dramatic surge in homelessness among households in England.

According to government figures, the homelessness rate in the country has risen over 50 percent in the past 6 years.

Last week, Britain voted to leave the European Union by a margin of 52 to 48 percent, with the Leave campaigners arguing that the EU had limited their economic freedom, causing many problems in employment and social housing.

“The Brexit vote is indicative of a tremendous anger,” said Shakespeare, adding that the government’s policies were failing on several fronts.

He said the current housing issue in the US was tantamount to “a complete and absolute failure by the government to be responsible for the housing of the people.”

Referring to the “successful” efforts that were made to provide Britons with affordable housing after the Second World War, the academic noted government policies have made poor people poorer and unable to afford houses.

“The bricks are available, the concrete is available, the cement is available, the plaster is available, the metals are available, the builders are available, and the active financial system enables you to build social housing,” at one-third the current rate, he said.

“But this government, indeed the UK government as a whole and all the parties, is controlled by the global finance system in exactly the same way that Europe is controlled by the global finance system,” he added.

The global finance system, Shakespeare argued, is only concerned with manipulating the market in favor of the “one percent” while ignoring the basic economic and housing needs of the rest.

With that said, Shakespeare went on to paint an even darker future for the housing sector, saying that the prices were likely to keep skyrocketing, leading to more homelessness.

The UK has faced severe problems after the Brexit vote last week. The pound sterling has plunged to a 31-year low against the US dollar and stock markets have slipped.

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