From mangled visas to delayed driving licences, public service cuts are ruining what’s left of the essential services we all use At Globe House, the London Passport Office, I want to see where rightwing anarchy leads. The queues outside are a publicly visible sign of the dilapidated state, people indignantly eager to tell stories that seem to signal the collapse of public services, things once solid crumbling away. The first person I meet is a father from Chichester with his small son, on a last try for the boy’s passport for a family holiday to Greece that was booked three years ago. “It’s lost if we don’t go tomorrow.” A renewal applied for in February was “lost in the post” despite proof of postage. Then they were told a Passport Office IT “systems upgrade” in March had lost it. “Then they wanted another copy of our marriage certificate. My wife spent hours on the phone daily to get an appointment.” Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
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