Divide & Exploit. The Tories tactic to attack the vulnerable

Divide and Exploit

The Tories have often employed the tactic of “Divide & Exploit” since 2010. This isn't a new tactic, far from it.  This tactic is very similar to the divide & conquer that has been used for many, many years to control people.

Divide

·         The Government looks for sections of society that would be susceptible to this attack.

·         Once section of society is identified, the Government uses their friends in the media to highlight specific   outlandish cases which is then used to generalise the whole of that section of society

       Using a convenient excuse (savings, cost,efficiency), the Government withdraws/cuts funding to services that support that section ofsociety.

·         Any and all criticism is ignored or ridiculed.

At this stage, the section of society is isolated, under attack from the mainstream media and Government while struggling as essential services have been removed.

Protests after Leeds care homes and day centres closure plans are approved.

Exploit

Now that the propaganda has seeped into the people’s psyche the Government can overtly attack that section of society.
·         Direct financial support is removed or rationed.
·         Indirect support is reduced, removed or rationed.
·         Government lies and blocks any investigation into the impact of their policies has on that section of society
·         Scapegoating society’s ills onto the section of society that is isolated.

DPAC occupied the BBC yet received no media attention.

An ideal example of this tactic would be the Government’s treatment of the disabled.  The Governments friends in the media pumped out stories showing ‘benefit cheats’ and heavily implied that this fraudulent activity is prominent within the disability community.  At the same time funding was removed from carers’ centres and other services, leaving disabled people feeling under attack and isolated.

But the Government never expected what came next.  Instead of being isolated and under attack, the disabled community got together to protect their own and fought back.  DPAC, Black Triangle, Glasgow against Atos, community group led by disabled people, fighting for disabled people.

I think that we can all take inspiration from the disabled community and how they fought back against the dive and exploit tactic by the Tories.