This is staggering, coming so soon into the life of a government:
It would seem that not only do we not have effective opposition in the UK any more, we don't have effective government either.
No wonder Theresa may does not want to go the country.
And no wonder that many, me included, feel that something radical is required to restore credibility to parliament when it is is clear that existing party structures are so clearly failing.
The reality is that because of first past the post we are now left with shambolic politics where any sense of cohesion has gone from both leading parties whose only reasons for staying together is a desperate desire for power without purpose.
Now is the time for that to change. We must have electoral reform, House of Lords reform and a progressive alliance to make that possible. Coalitions are always uncomfortable, but have a degree of honesty in recognising the compromises they require. Right now we only have dishonesty and a shambles.
I am reminded of Oliver Cromwell's speech when dismissing the Rump parliament (although I would not endorse his solution):
It is high time for me to put an end to your sitting in this place,which you have dishonored by your contempt of all virtue, and defiled by your practice of every vice.
Ye are a factious crew, and enemies to all good government.
Ye are a pack of mercenary wretches, and would like Esau sell your country for a mess of pottage, and like Judas betray your God for a few pieces of money.
Is there a single virtue now remaining amongst you? Is there one vice you do not possess?
Ye have no more religion than my horse. Gold is your God. Which of you have not bartered your conscience for bribes? Is there a man amongst you that has the least care for the good of the Commonwealth?
Ye sordid prostitutes have you not defiled this sacred place, and turned the Lord's temple into a den of thieves, by your immoral principles and wicked practices?
Ye are grown intolerably odious to the whole nation. You were deputed here by the people to get grievances redressed, are yourselves become the greatest grievance.
Your country therefore calls upon me to cleanse this Augean stable, by putting a final period to your iniquitous proceedings in this House; and which by God's help, and the strength he has given me, I am now come to do.
I command ye therefore, upon the peril of your lives, to depart immediately out of this place.
Go, get you out! Make haste! Ye venal slaves be gone! So! Take away that shining bauble there, and lock up the doors.
In the name of God, go!
It is time for an honest electoral system, and honest parliament, a government with integrity and responsibility and a political process that really tries to represent the UK. There is no chance of that with the electoral system we have.
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Unbelievable. Wouldn’t it be great if the Press focused on these issues of great import as much as they did over differences on the other side. But I agree, current politics isn’t working. And the referendum was the result.
To be honest I hardly took any of this in, I’m too busy reading all the goss from the new series of Strictly. Who is partnering who, will we see a flash of someones pants. Then there’s X Factor, hoardes of breathless yodelers forcing the tears and squeezing 3 or four different pitches into one word.
The zombie apocolypse is already here as we stumble half blind and death through all the corruption.
Spot on Richard. I would like to see a Senate established similar to that in France with regional representation from devolved governance as well as other interests. This would be part of a more federated British and Irish Isles underpinned by fiscal federalism with subsidiarity at its heart. Naive perhaps, but this could have been a modernising European project Labour could have pursued but didn’t ever have confidence or genuine commitment to electoral reform. Their current private grief is helping anybody.
Best
Leslie
I think that is the direction of travel
I have said before the May & Co have no idea how to deal with this post BREXIT world.
Even if May is as level-levelheaded a figure as she is portrayed as it seems that she is outnumbered by those in her party who were born with their feet in the mouths.
And I am no fan of TM at all. Although I sense that she is capable of running things I believe her to be typically dogmatic – like most modern Tories.
I’ve just heard on Radio 4 that Australia has said that it will negotiate with the EU first and the UK last (2.5 years maybe before we talk about trade with the Aussies)? Nice one Boris!!
But more worryingly – looking at the state of both our main parties – our politicians are on the whole failing us right now.
I sense that we are adrift and we might have to get used to this feeling for some time.
Richard this is my first post on your brilliant blog
As a retired lorry driver and lifelong Labour Party member, although in despair I did leave for a while following my retirement in 2011, I have been intrigued and fascinated by the development(decline) of traditional politics over recent years.
As this blog argues, we are truly in a mess. The whole world is in a mess.
This I believe is the consequence of the gradual development of the neo-liberal project and rapid globalisation which has led to the smashing of the post-war consensus and the ideals of collectivism which developed strongly during and immediately after the 2nd World War. The promotion of individualism, a greedy, selfish individualism of everyone for themselves with a growing inequality within and between nations has led us to a situation where the majority of people are not happy with their lot in life. However they do not know who or what to blame and look for the easiest of scapegoats, e.g. politically, the EU, the Labour Party etc. Politics is in disarray, there are no solid principles or long term policies to support and promote. A short-term capitalism, now built upon a financial system of nano-second profit seeking rather than its original design for long-term investment is reciprocated by a similar short-term politics. But how on earth is this to change?
I hope this makes sense.
John
It makes sense
But I wish it was not as you describe
Oddly, I think long term coalition is the best answer
Richard
Unsurprisingly the government don’t really know what they’re doing. Is anyone truly surprised? Brexit was always going to be massively complicated.
We are reaping what we’ve been sowing for years in this country with the appalling EU referendum the culmination of a downward trend in informed, balanced and intelligent political debate.
I’m all for major changes as our democracy badly needs refreshing and revitalising.
Getting them is going to require the centre and left to come together but that will be the only way.
I agree that a coalition, perhaps founded on and existing for the sole mandate of electoral reform, is the only way out of the mess. But the Conservatives knew in 2015 that their outright victory then plus their gerrymandering project (Individual voter registration, boundaries, union representation and funding, packing the Lords etc), guaranteed them 2020 too. The unholy mess that is the opposition only reinforces their guarantee. So it seems to me that the only hope is a pre-election coalition – where non-right wing parties agree not to field opposing candidates. It is necessary, perhaps vital even, but I can’t see it happening. So we impotently await 2025, and hope they’re not too nasty in the meantime.
Agree Lords needs complete tevamp but cannit agree prop rep for Commons.
Things are bad now but at least there is a semblance of majoritarian rule.
With prop rep just think a country like Italy since WWII. They are only now beginning to bring a
semblance of order to their ” everybody rules” post 1948 saga of roughly a change of govt. per year by pronibiting parliamentary representation below circa 3 percent. ( plus October referendum success might change the Constitution hopefully for the better via drastic representational slimdown).
Would we want sixty years of that here?
That is not what we would get
Nor have most countries