The Conservatives have come up with a new campaign encouraging people to think about personal debt. The main thrust of the campaign is that you shouldn't listen to your inner tosser who encourages you to spend money you don't have. As you can imagine, the Daily Mail are apoplectic.
When I first read about it I was fairly reactionary, but having read the site I have moderated my comments slightly...
First the positives - I'm really pleased that a major political party are speaking about personal debt. It's an issue that affects literally millions of people in the UK and I'm delighted that the Conservatives are talking about more than just the theoreticals of politics and actually looking at the practical issues which make a difference to the lives of individuals.
There is some really useful information laid out in a clear and non-scary manner. And the advice isn't bad either.
Some of the suggestions, which I hope are policy commitments, are really sensible.
If you get past the attention-grabbing tosser character, it's not a bad site/campaign.
Now the negatives....
I completely agree that people have to take responsibility for their own actions and anything which encourages this is a good thing. By why talk about just individual responsibilities? There is a corporate responsibility too. People who give out credit should really consider the ability of their debtors to repay. Who thinks its a good idea to give students upwards of £10,000 in credit/store cards? The campaign should also accept that while individuals can be tossers by over-spending money they can't afford, the banks/store cards are equally tosserish by making this possible.
Are the suggestions serious policy commitments? If so, excellent, if not there need to be policy commiments. Will these include funding for CABs?
Not everyone in debt is a middle-class tosser who spent their money on designer goods and Cristal. If this is the Conservative idea of the personal debt problem in the UK then there's still a huge way to go. Debt affects people from every class, let's look at people in debt because they need to feed their kids not just because they've been buying very expensive rubbish.
Perhaps if people kept more of the money they earned there wouldn't be such a need to borrow - is there a commitment to a reduction in personal taxation on the horizon?
One of the biggest debts in the country is tuition fees loans - care to commit to abolish fees Mr Cameron?
What protection will you put in place to stop unscrupulous debt collectors harrassing and frightening people who are in debt and need support not threats?
So, a good step forward, but take it further. Face down the big banks and offer a real commitment to help people who are in debt.
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I agree with you - it's good that a political party is talking about the UK's massive personal debt problem. I'm slightly cynical that any party will seriously address the issue, given that our economy rests on consumer (over)spending. I don't think it's an overstatement to say that millions of people in the UK are enslaved to debt. People are forced to work harder and harder and worry more and more about meeting repayments. They get burned out, stressed, lose quality time with family and friends and are unhappy - all for chasing after material wants. But once you're in thousands of pounds of debt it's really hard to get out of, especially when irresponsible lenders, and we're not just talking loan sharks here, lend people more money to keep them trapped in the system. Organisations like the CAB have got extra money in the last year or so to train more money advisors and boy are they needed so that people in debt can get good advice, support and if necessary a fresh start through bankruptcy.
I think we need a national conversation about our attitude to consumerism and debt and if the Tories are genuinely prepared to take a lead on that then good for them.
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