by Carl Andrew
“Agreed,” said Vanessa. “We can’t run the risk of this policy being considered elitist at all, that could potentially belittle its impact.”
“So, what are our options?” David said.
Russell and Vanessa looked at each other and then back to David.
It felt like a minute or two had passed before Russell eventually spoke up.
“You know I’ve been giving this some thought and one way to tackle this that I could see was to do just continue what we’re doing,” he said.
“How does that help us,” David interjected before Russell had time to finish.
“What I mean is roll the programme out as we’ve just discussed and after three months we’ll have over 80% of the adult population ‘chipped’ as it were. That’s as far as latest projections suggest anyway,” Russell continued.
“Go on,” encouraged David.
“So, effectively we could make the chips mandatory after that point. That way we only risk upsetting 20% of the adult population but it deals with the wealth issue.”
“Besides,” Russell went on. “At the moment the discontent is really down to a few polls and social media comments. It hasn’t really manifested itself in a rejection of the chips to date has it?”
“No, you’re right. I can’t really think of many alternatives. Vanessa?” David looked over in Vanessa’s direction.
“I agree. I think that sounds like a good idea. I would suggest though that perhaps we table this topic for further discussion in three months’ time when the roll out is complete,” she said.
“That way, we might have a clearer picture on the public’s feeling towards the policy and the wealth issue.”
“Good point,” said Russell. “I agree with that strategy. David, are you happy to go along with Vanessa’s suggestion?”
“Sure, Vanessa can you schedule that meeting and put it in calendar?”
“Will do,” Vanessa replied.
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A week later - 10 Downing Street, London
The amended policy had been roundly supported in Parliament, as David anticipated it would be.
He was in an even stronger position than before owing to the success of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act so far. Few in either house were going to challenge him at this time.
A press conference had been arranged that morning to announce the next phase of the liquid chip programme.
David and Russell were prepared and ready to go as the media turned up, at varying stages of lateness.
It was the usual occurrence. The PMs Media Team had always planned to start press conferences at least five minutes later than billed as a result.
Initially, this tardiness annoyed David and he formed the impression that journalists suffered from a distinct delusion of grandeur, considering themselves far more important than they actually were, in his opinion.
However, he grew to accept the press game, as he called it, and drew the conclusion that journalists were the only people who considered journalism an honourable profession anymore. These thoughts were echoed with his dislike for bloggers.
It didn’t used to be that way from his perspective, but this new breed of news journalists were all ‘write quick and get it up’ as opposed to investing in the investigative side of the practice.
That often led to sloppy articles riddled with grammatical errors and factual inaccuracies. But then he felt the internet generation were not interested in truth as much as they were the pursuit of an interesting read or watch.
He didn’t blame the individual writers though, it was the media industry as a whole that had changed the way news was reported. Still, dealing with the press was a necessary part of his world and he got on with it regardless of his views.
When the room was full to bursting and the noise level had reduced to a murmur, Russell walked to the podium.
“Thank you for coming today, as you know, the Anti-Social Behaviour Act is now into its seventh month and we’re here today to present the results of the first six months for the six areas testing the liquid chip strategy.”
“We will also announce plans for the next phase of the programme as well as one or two enhancements to the current model,” he continued.
It was agreed this was Russell’s day. The policy and Act were sponsored by his Department and, as such, he would front the media to present anything to do with it.
“As you will have seen from the release of the crime statistics last week, violent crime and burglaries have decreased significantly across the six test areas. This is a very welcoming result of the liquid chip programme in practice.”
“Further, retail and leisure businesses in these cities and towns are reporting increased profits due to members of the public flocking to central areas once again.”
“Finally, a special review of A&E departments in each of the six areas, commissioned by my Department, has found that cases of victims of violence have reduced, relieving the strain on NHS resources.”
“All of this paints a positive picture of a successful programme to date. As a result, we are pleased to announce today that the programme will now be expanded to all major metropolitan areas of the UK.”
“Rural and all other areas will be brought into the programme in January. The reason for the staggered approach is solely due to the time it takes to develop, test and produce the liquid chips in significant quantities to cover the population.”
The words were flowing from Russell’s lips. Since he took on the role of Minister in David’s Government he had grown in stature as an orator.
“I wanted to add to the results mentioned previously, that uptake of those agreeing to consume the liquid chip was impressive at 85% on average according to the latest figures we received just yesterday.”
“We anticipate around a 70% uptake as we roll the programme out across the rest of UK. For us, that would be a successful target.”
“However, while we revel in the positive outcome of the initial test phase, we are mindful that there are still one or two questions that need to be answered about the liquid chip programme.”
“Primarily, there is an assumption that wealthier sectors of the population are refusing to consume the chip because they can afford not to do so.”
“While there is little evidence to back this assumption up, the Government is unveiling today an educational programme to reach out to all members of the population considering not taking the liquid chip in order to boost conversion.”
Russell knew this educational programme was just lip service so the public got the impression the issue was being dealt with. In reality, it would just buy the Government time to wait until the roll out reached the entire country.
“Furthermore, to encourage active use of the liquid chip programme, we are announcing that the liquid chips will have a dual function from tomorrow.”
Murmurings and rumblings in the audience highlighted the interest from the media about what Russell had just said.
“Not only will the chips measure bad behaviour, they will also reward good behaviour. Those found to have acted in a way positive to society will receive a 5% discount off their next intended purchase.”
“We refer to it as the Behaviour Discount. It will be measured and monitored in the same way as bad behaviour.”
“Our plan is to fund it out of the budget savings from a reduction in resource and repair costs following the drop in crime rates.”
“This will be supported by the revenue generated through the Compliance Tax and Behaviour Charge.”
“We believe that this change will encourage an increased uptake of the liquid chip as we look to maintain our promise to eradicate violence and anti-social behaviour from our streets.”
“Finally, it has also been found that some people are still committing illegal acts because the cost of the Behaviour Charge is less than the benefit they get for breaking the law.”
“If someone steals a TV and
then buys a newspaper, the Behaviour Charge on the newspaper purchase is much smaller than the profit they get from the crime.”
“From tomorrow, the policy will be adapted to extend the Behaviour Charge to multiple purchases until the cost of the anti-social behaviour act that a person commits has been covered.”
“These figures will be worked out using data from a system established by the previous administration that collected information on the cost to society of anti-social behaviour crimes. It will be cross referenced with the most recent statistics available and will be updated every quarter.”
“Any situation where anti-social behaviour does not financially impact society will result in the basic level of Behaviour Charge which is currently set at 20% of the purchase price of a product.”
“Thank you, any questions?”
It was quite a performance, however almost instantly a hand was raised from the back of the room.
Russell looked over to the hand’s owner and acknowledged her with a nod.
“Jane Fielding. The Guardian. Does the Government think it is sad that the human psyche has dissolved to such an extent that the public are, through acceptance of this policy, freely bending to your mind controlling will?”
Almost in expectation of such a question, Russell took little time to consider his response.
“The British people have had enough of being prisoners in their homes. The violence that has besieged the country for many years has been a cause of misery for too many for too long,” he said.
“They have chosen to live in the areas they live for numerous reasons. But whatever the reason, they want to be free to enjoy those areas.”
“What we, as a Government, have done, is identified a solution that the public have accepted in order for them to live better and happier lives in their communities.”
Hands shot up from the audience as he finished this sentence. Undeterred, Russell continued.
“We now have a responsibility to protect the interests of the public and their privacy by ensuring the data collected from the liquid chip programme is stored securely and used only for the purpose of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act.”
He paused and saw the hands drop back down. He had answered their questions in his final statement. They were all keen to understand the solution to the issue of privacy.
Russell stared directly into the camera and, with earnest, said: “My promise to the British people is that we will do exactly that.”
After one or two slightly more patchy questions, the press conference was over.
A few hours later, the public reaction to the announcement on social media and through press reports showed Russell and David that the press conference was a success; they had support from the nation.
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Wrexham, North Wales
The missus was on his case, she’d be on it for days now. She wanted the old mattress shifted but he couldn’t be arsed to do it.
It was too expensive to take it to the tip and too heavy to be bothered dumping, but she kept on at him.
Eventually, he was completely over it and decided to just get rid of the bloody thing.
He knew where he was going to do it and how, but he had to wait until dark so no one saw him.
He’d spoken to his mates about whether his chip would pick up something like this but they were all convinced it was more for violence and graffiti than anything like this.
So, as the sunlight bid farewell to another day and evening appeared, he initiated his plan.
He opened the door to his flat and checked that no one was in the corridor.
Empty, that’s perfect, he thought to himself.
Dragging the mattress along the narrow, filthy corridor, he kept looking behind him to make sure he wasn’t spotted.
He was on the eighth floor of the block. He’d lived there for about five years. His flat was a ‘gift’ from the council and he had no intention of giving it back.
Trouble was, these council blocks weren’t well maintained. The lift was inconsistent to say the least and he hoped tonight was one of its ‘on’ periods.
He turned the corner and glanced over at the lift doors. There was a message taped on it. That wasn’t a good sign.
Out of order, please use stairs.
It provided a number to call in an emergency but he knew from past experience that those numbers were never answered. Always went to an answer phone.
“Bastard,” he muttered under his breath.
As fortune would have it, the three days prior when he had been too lazy to get rid of the mattress, the lift worked perfectly.
“Typical.” His grumbling continued.
He hatched an alternative plan. The stairwell was open on one side; he’d get down to level five and then drop the mattress off the railing on to the ground below.
It would save him a load of hassle.
Heaving the mattress through the doors to the emergency stairs, he found it a little easier to chuck the mattress down each flight of stairs until he got to his desired destination.
He peered over the railing to check what was below. There was a car parked illegally just underneath but around the corner by the next landing there was nothing below.
He forced the mattress down another flight and then lifted one end up to balance on the railing before hitching up the other side allowing the whole thing to fall down.
The damn thing caught the wind slightly and shot out a little further from the building than anticipated.
He grimaced as it narrowly missed a motorbike and nestled on the grass verge behind it.
Descending the rest of the stairs at pace, he got to the bottom and eventually to the mattress before anyone else noticed what he was doing.
He dragged the mattress from its landing spot towards its final resting place.
Towards the back of the block of flats was a copse of trees, blocking the view of the ugly tenement buildings from the new sports complex opened last year.
The wooded space was supposed to provide a glimpse of nature in an otherwise concrete environment. The residents didn’t care and used it for a makeshift tip. He did the same.
The mattress was dumped unceremoniously against a large Silver Birch tree. He looked around and noticed that the usual array of waste had largely disappeared.
Were people not dumping stuff here anymore, he thought to himself.
Then another thought descended, or are they just not dumping at all?
It concerned him. Perhaps his mates had been wrong. Perhaps this act was also picked up by his liquid chip.
He considered his options. There was no way he was going to drag the mattress upstairs again.
The effort to get it back to the flat alone would have been difficult enough to take, but another confrontation with his wife was the biggest concern he had.
He left it where it was. He didn’t need the shit. He’d take whatever happened.
The next morning, he woke up with little purpose for the day as usual but then remembered he had to collect his dole money.
The sun was shining as he left the block behind him. He gave a cursory glance in the direction of the copse of trees but didn’t pay it too much mind.
He had money to collect and things to spend it on.
It was a ten minute walk to the job centre but on a sunny day like this, it was almost a pleasure to be out and get some exercise.
He’d been to a couple of interviews over the previous couple of weeks so he shouldn’t have any hassle getting his allowance.
A small queue was already forming as he arrived. He acknowledged a couple of people he knew in passing and took his place in the line.
The doors opened about five minutes later, which was great because there was nothing worse than having to make chit chat with a toothless 50 year old women who still stank of alcohol from the previous night.
He took a number from the machine and waited his turn. He had abou
t ten people in front of him. It would be a few minutes.
Someone had left a newspaper on the seat next to him so he flicked through the stories until his time came.
It was the same old process, provide your ID, answer a few questions and the money was transferred to your bank account.
He smiled to the woman behind the counter, already planning on what he was going to spend the cash on. He walked a few steps away and looked down at his remittance.
“What the?” he said.
Barging his way back to the counter in front of the next in line he confronted the woman.
“What the hell’s going on? How come I didn't get the full amount? Where’s the rest? I been to interviews, you know that,” he demanded a response.
Calmly, the woman looked him straight in the eyes and said: “Yes sir, but someone’s obviously been a naughty boy. The app on my device showed that you’d done something illegal since your last financial exchange so you’ve been charged the Behaviour Tax.”
“But I ain’t done nothing wrong,” he said, pleading his innocence.
“I’m afraid you’ll have to take that up with the dispute centre. I can give you the number if you like?” She offered.
He thought for a second and then realised. It was the mattress. Why did he go and dump the bloody mattress.
He muttered something under his breath and stormed out.
He was another to learn the hard way.
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Early October - Bolton, Lancashire
Leon received a call that morning. It was a call he had been kind of expecting but one he hoped would never come.
It was his oldest brother Ally, the one who carried the weight of the world on his shoulders and the one who kept the family going.
“Leon, you need to come home. It’s dad. He’s not doing well,” Ally said.
“What’s going on? Is he going to be ok?” Leon was worried now.
“His diabetes has got worse. He’s been keeping it to himself but last night he went downstairs to get a drink and when he didn’t return, mum went to find him. He was in the lounge lying on the floor. He had a stroke,” Ally was struggling to get the words out.