Philpott and the Right Wing Culture War

Over the past two weeks, the government have drawn their electoral battleground in anticipation for next month's local elections.

In embracing the politics of class division, the Government, including the once centre-progressive Liberal Democrats, have attempted to justify their cynical attacks on the unemployed poor through the guise of defending the middle class, and more importantly, blaming others for their own economic incompetence.

It therefore wasn't surprising that both the Prime Minister and others in the Cabinet saw Mick Philpott- the perpetrator of a house fire in Derby that killed his six children, as the perfect weapon to continue their cultural onslaught. In a speech last week, David Cameron, supporting similar comments made by his fellow Bullingdon Club chum turned Chancellor George Osborne, argued that the Philpott case “raised wider questions about the welfare system” and the “signals” it provided to those that claimed state assistance.

Of course, the right-wing press were more than happy to comply. And while the Sun were at least dignified enough to pose a question relating to a 'benefits culture' and its contribution to Philpott's actions, splashed on the cover of the brazen Daily Mail read the headline “Vile Product of Welfare UK”. Far from the post-war security net created by Prime Minister Atlee in the bleak aftermath of the Second World War, today's politicians, cheered on by the agenda of a vindictive press, have transformed the idea into something to be ashamed of. And if such claimants were to forget about their obligatory shame, it would be up to such media outlets- comprised mostly of privileged 'strivers' to remind them of it.

What is troubling is the sheer hypocrisy espoused by the Mail. For while they caricature Philpott's motivations to an almost bloodthirsty desire for benefits, such character reduction were not attributed to a similar attack carried out by Christopher Foster just a few years ago.
In 2009, Mr. Foster killed both his wife and 15 year old daughter before setting his house ablaze and committing suicide after. As the story unfolded, it was revealed that Mr. Foster was a multi-millionaire who had accumulated a large amount of debt and was accused of tax fraud in an attempt to maintain his lavish lifestyle. Yet, Foster was not accused of being a 'vile product of greed' who put ego before his family. In fact, while the Daily Mail continues to vilify welfare claimants, it simultaneously idolises the lavish celebrity which formed much of Foster's insecurity.

More depressing, is that the Left- once champions of the welfare state and the social contract that bound it, are now capitulating to the Right's culture war. Ed Miliband, seen at first as a refreshing departure from Blair's New Labour, has also argued for cuts to welfare allowances, as well as initially supporting the atrocious 'Workfare' scheme- a system where job seekers were forced to work for benefits, at a rate significantly below the existing minimum wage. Beyond a small, marginalised section of the left, there exists no group powerful enough to defend the principles of state welfare, or even represent its brutal realities.

For as long as this ideological void widens, the Right will have no qualms in using more Philpotts to characterise the welfare state. And with media output like The Jeremy Kyle Show or the Daily Mail continuing to ritually humiliate a voiceless “undeserving poor”, they will certainly have enough ammunition to give a feeble Left a run for their money.