Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Don’t miss this offer - 8 issues for just £9.99
SUBSCRIBE
Opinion

Paul McNamee: We’ve got to grab 2018 and shake it up. Together

Of course, it’s easy to focus on the bleak things around us. But there is hope. Always. Everybody who buys The Big Issue is helping to make a positive change.

Theresa May Donald Trump holding hands

The year started with concern over a transatlantic special relationship. Would he like her? Would she take his hand? Would they ride off into the sunset proclaiming that the people had spoken and to challenge them was the way to madness.

It’d be November before Harry and Meghan announced their engagement.

For Donald and Theresa the road was rockier. By the end of the year, they were barely speaking. Also, by the end of the year, councillors in Bristol were putting metal spikes to stop birds landing IN TREES for fear of messing up some residents’ nice cars beneath. What a time to be alive!

Clearly, nobody can see what is around the corner.

Plans and predictions will make fools of us all. Had Theresa May had second sight, there is little chance she’d have called an election. There is little chance she’d have suffered such a bloodied nose. And there is little chance The Big Issue/UNILAD interview with Jeremy Corbyn would have happened, clearly tipping the scales and affecting the outcome. Clearly.

Of course, it’s easy to focus on the bleak things around us. To the Universal Credit crush that is tipping some of the most impoverished into deeper crisis. To the spike in homelessness figures, to the flattening of wages, to a sense of things closing in.

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

But there is hope. Always. Everybody who buys The Big Issue is helping to make a positive change. Every community has champions, some unheralded, who are fighting to bring those around them back up. There are social enterprises and third sector heroes who, with help and support, can grow and flourish. If 2018 can be anything, it can be year of looking around, seeing where a hand can be offered and step by step change can come.

It’s not going to trickle down. We’ve got to grab it and shake it up.

Also, there is a chance we’re not alone in the universe. THAT is a hell of a thought.

Here’s to 2018 and the good things that can come.

Introducing RORA Jobs and Training

Whether you’re in work, currently unemployed, or worried about your future job security, Big Issue RORA Jobs & Training is here to help. Search our latest jobs, register for alerts, browse training courses and find your next role today.  

Find out more
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

Never miss an issue

Take advantage of our special subscription offer. Subscribe from just £9.99 and never miss an issue.

Recommended for you

View all
Poverty policy needs a rethink. One day, we will replace the fish with fishing rods
John Bird

Poverty policy needs a rethink. One day, we will replace the fish with fishing rods

Music in schools delivers an essential pathway out of poverty – here's how
Polly Stepan

Music in schools delivers an essential pathway out of poverty – here's how

Why everyone should have a favourite tree
Paul McNamee

Why everyone should have a favourite tree

The future feels bleak for Gen Zs like me. It's time for a Green New Deal
Tamara Ullyart

The future feels bleak for Gen Zs like me. It's time for a Green New Deal

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know

Support our vendors with a subscription

For each subscription to the magazine, we’ll provide a vendor with a reusable water bottle, making it easier for them to access cold water on hot days.