THIRD WORLD BRITAIN (weekly poem)

THIRD WORLD BRITAIN

PM David Cameron in his New Year speech

claimed that if the Tories weren’t re-elected

this year, Britain will descend into chaos

Food Banks abound in every town,

But hidden out of sight;

So Cameron and all his chums, 

Can then ignore the hungry bums

And soundly sleep at night.

The potholed roads, unlit at night,

And other urban scars;

In areas where need prevails,

Contrast with the increasing sales,

Of swanky homes and cars.

Graffiti rules in many streets,

And every Friday night;

In all the high streets of each town, 

The drunks, when they’re not falling down

Are getting up to fight.

The local fuzz are out in force,

And searching for cocaine,

And other highs that have been banned,

From those without a septum and

Presumably a brain.

The hospitals are short of beds,

And on some of the floors

Those patients with the weakest hearts,

Lie helpless on their trolley carts,

In draughty corridors.

And meanwhile every wintertime,

The old and the infirm;

Who are so damn pernickety,

Can’t run to Electricity, 

And can’t afford a Therm. 

For millions of unemployed,

The trap in which they’re caught;

Which daily causes much torment,

According to the Government,

Is simply their own fault.  

Meanwhile in sunny Westminster,

Those from the Public Schools,

A Cabinet of millionaires,

And their compliant fonctionaires,

Enforce their own cruel rules.

© Richard Layton