‘The problem is poor kids’: Indie music & Tory Austerity

Over recent years, Indie music has become synonymous with leftist politics. Artists like Style Council and The Clash paved the way for newer artists to inject their own political activism into the indie music scene.

One of these artists who has recently gained recognition on a larger scale is Sam Fender, a 27 year old singer-songwriter from North Shields who gained fame for using his music to express his own leftist politics and beliefs.

"Sam Fender - Live at Leeds" by Braden F is marked with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Sam Fender’s critique of Tory austerity is perhaps seen most strongly into his award-winning hit ‘Seventeen going under’:

‘She said the debt, the debt, the debt

So I thought about shifting gear

And how she wept and wept and wept

Well, luck came and died 'round here

I see my mother, the DWP see a number.’

 

In this song, Fender touches on many aspects of growing up in working-class communities where life was characterised by ‘the debt, the debt, the debt’. His retelling of how “luck came and died ‘round here” paints a picture of an impoverished area, lacking in opportunities for social mobility. Through singing about how his mother was in so much debt that he considered becoming a drug dealer to help support his family, he demonstrates the extreme lengths which children and teenagers are forced to resort to in order to help aid their families’ financial worries. This acts as a clear example of how austerity and other conservative policies kept the working class in poverty, creating conditions where activities like drug dealing became more prevalent in working class communities due to the fact that poverty simply breeds necessity.

In this way, it’s clear to see how Fender’s lyrics are a critique on the ruling class who see the working class as no more than ‘a number’, and are therefore responsible for stifling the working class and perpetuating class warfare. 

‘I don't have time for the very few

They never had time for me and you’

Despite describing himself as “obviously left-wing”, part of Sam Fender’s Leftism is interestingly solidified by his critique of many new left-wing politicians who have drifted far from the likes of Corbyn, a leader who Fender strongly supported, and his socialist vision for the country. Indeed, Sam Fender has himself explained in an interview with the Guardian (linked here) that his dissociation from politicians on both the left and right largely comes from the government’s neglect of those in lower income brackets, arguing that the Left have recently “abandoned the working classes” in a way that the Right always have. In his song ‘Aye’, for example, Fender blatantly states “I’m not a fucking liberal anymore”, demonstrating his disappointment in the Left who he feels have not been strong enough in their opposition to Tory austerity. His dissociation from the label ‘liberal’ also comes from the fact that he believes the term ‘leftie’ to have been warped and transformed into ‘a slur in working-class towns’, as ‘there is too much nitpicking and stupid fights, especially online’. This critique of ‘wokism’ is reflected heavily in his song ‘Aye’, as he says that ‘the woke kids are just dickheads'. He also uses this song to describe the growing divisions in once-Leftist working-class towns, saying:

‘Poor hate the poor

Hate the poor

Hate the poor

Hate the poor

Poor hate the poor

Hate the poor

Hate the poor

Hate the poor’

 This refrain comments on how working class people have been convinced that other working class people in Britain are the ones responsible for the country’s problems, when in reality it is the 1-percenters and the upper class who keep on widening the wealth gap and keeping 1/5th of the country in poverty. This leads to working class people voting conservative, a decision which is ultimately against their community’s best interests.

In my opinion, dissecting the music of Sam Fender always leads me back to considering the music of Declan McKenna, a similarly left-leaning Indie musician who has gained popularity over the last five years. One similarity between the two, for example, comes from their similar presentations of children as the innocent victims of Tory austerity:

'Look online

Do ten minutes of research and in turn find

The problem is poor kids who want holidays in term time

The problem is poor kids who can't afford the train fare

So we up the train fare and charge them for not paying the train fare

The problem is welfare

And the problem is free healthcare'

This powerful monologue from Declan Mckenna's 'Listen to your friends' criticises both the effects of Tory austerity and the British media's demonisation of the working class. A quick google search and a mere "ten minutes of research" is all it takes for media consumers to form opinions on different issues; as the vast majority of media and news outlets in the UK are heavily biased in favour of the right, these opinions are often grossly one-sided and misinformed. 

The line "the problem is poor kids who want holidays in term time" further comments on the right-wing biases which exist in society, as it demonstrates how the working class are demonised and punished for wanting the same privileges that the upper classes have access to, such as going on holiday. McKenna further highlights the absurdity of this punishment of impoverished youth in the line "the problem is poor kids who can't afford the train fare, so we up the train fare and charge them for not paying the train fare." Here, he cleverly discusses how continuous charges and penalties only target those who can't afford them in the first place, as when money is no object, financial penalties aren't penalties at all. 

His poignant statement that "the problem is welfare" also demonstrates the Tory party's attempts to deflect attention away from the fact that a plethora of problems in this country are caused by austerity. Often, they do so by suggesting that it is the working class, in this case particularly those who receive benefits such as universal credit, who are the problem. The following line 'the problem is free healthcare' solidifies McKenna's critique of the Tory government by commenting on their desire to privatise the NHS, a move which clearly shows how little the Tories care for Brits outside of their own social class.

'And if it's not a fucking war crime
It's a total waste of your time
It's getting so much worse
Get real kid your country's been at war since birth now.'

 

Amongst many other critiques of the British government, McKenna's music is dominated by topics such as social justice, mental health, corruption, the effects of transphobia, war, and global politics. He doesn't shy away from hard topics, discussing them openly and poetically in a way which I believe encourages other contemporary indie songwriters, such as Sam Fender, to do the same.

Overall, it is clear to see why indie artists such as Fender and McKenna are popular. With their finger on the pulse of the political climate in the UK and other issues around the world, their music resonates with a large portion of Brits, especially young people. Artists like these have an important message, and their music is an integral tool for speaking out against Tory austerity and the mistreatment of the working class.