We cannot win by fighting politicians over issues that are only important to us. We must fight them on the ground that’s important to them too

In the UK yesterday, protestors took to the motorway network to create a protest ‘go slow’, by deliberately blocking two lanes of three lane motorways with vehicles that are only travelling at fifteen miles per hour.

The protest itself was overtly against the cost of fuel duty, which makes up a disproportionate percentage of the rising cost of vehicle fuel – which most of us will agree is now completely out of control.

Whilst many and probably the majority of us sympathise with the reasoning and motivation of the protest, it is clear from the comments from people who have had their ‘normal’ days disrupted by the action, that not everyone has bought in to this particular action plan.

Indeed, in terms of any kind of protest, blockade or strike amongst what we can now expect will become a steadily increasing  number of events involving direct action to demonstrate discontent to politicians and the government, the point that these actions not only divide, but can actually polarise what would have previously been support – all to the benefit of the government and those who are responsible for the problems – is being regrettably missed.

The truth is that the majority of people know that the system is not only broken. They also know that everything our politicians, the elites and the establishment does is now wrong.

The problem that those of us who have woken to the point where we are no longer ‘bought in’ to the system have today, is that for the majority of those who actually know they are being hurt by what’s happening and how it is already directly affecting them and their lives, the system still feels like it is working for them. As such, for that majority, the benefits of acquiescing at this moment in time, still appear to outweigh the cost.

That a point in time will come when for the majority this is no longer the case is now inevitable. It is not a case of if, but when. But that when could still be a very long time.

We are doing ourselves no favours in the meantime, by failing to box clever and fight the politicians in a way and on ground that is important to them and in ways that they have no way to ignore or to deliberately misunderstand.