Three days to go to the election, and all Boris Johnson does is lie. It's boring to point it out, again, but he did it continually yesterday and unless everyone keeps saying it what he repeats might become the accepted truths, and that must not happen.
There are good reasons why Johnson's worldview is deeply dangerous. They will survive the election, whatever the outcome (and I am still hopeful). The FT has provided one insight as to this danger, although not using the arguments that I will. As Patrick Jenkins noted there:
The great global deregulation has begun. The signs are subtle so far, but last week threw up four pieces of evidence that the US and Europe are poised to compete to ease bank regulation – in turn threatening the co-ordinated global approach that has helped make the international banking system safer in the decade since the financial crisis.
His precise evidence on Brexit, banking and competition between Brussels and Washington are not as important as his overall observation. As he says:
Taken in isolation, all of the above [observations] might simply suggest pragmatism. .... But there are clear signs that Brussels and Washington are eyeing each other with suspicion [and] .... that the globally harmonised approach to regulation could break down.
He concludes:
Competitive pressures to deregulate could not come at a worse time. Geopolitical uncertainties – from Brexit to Hong Kong – threaten economic stability. President Trump's bellicose trade policies and a domestic Chinese slowdown are hurting global growth. And in financial markets, asset bubbles remain ripe for puncture, as quantitative easing and ultra-low interest rates have inflated the value of everything from house prices to private equity targets. If at this juncture we fail to preserve a robust and harmonised global approach to banking regulation, history is likely to judge us harshly.
He is right on banking: the chance of anither financial crisis is high unless co-ordinated action is taken,
But that's not the only risk. If cooperation on banking regulation, where there has been a long history of seeking common ground (if not always very successfully) fails then what chance is there on climate negotiation? The COP negotiations already look to be hopelessly inadequate in the face of the crisis we face. Add a drop more populism, and Johnson could do that given his party's poor commitment to climate issues, and we are in very deep trouble indeed.
I have many reasons to fear a Johnson government. This is definitely one that is high on the list.
Thanks for reading this post.
You can share this post on social media of your choice by clicking these icons:
You can subscribe to this blog's daily email here.
And if you would like to support this blog you can, here:
It seems to me then that we have capitalist anarchists in power pulling the puppet strings after all. Johnson & Trump (and maybe a few others) are just avatars for the real dark powers running our lives. The aim: to create chaos and hoover up assets and wealth – even whilst the ship is sinking (climate change). Crispin Odey is not the only seen ‘unseen hand’ of the market.
You know – seeing how popular Johnson appears, there is something really sad about the way in which so many voters might very well flock to Johnson in this election. This might very well be an even more sad election than 1992 (Kinnock was right about our future then ‘Don’t grow old, don’t become ill’ etc.,). To me it’s sad because I’ve already gone past anger and frustration. But it is sad that so many folk will be misled – genuinely so. These people are not evil or stupid. They are just misled by powerful money, clever tricks and character assassinations that unfortunately meet their unmet need for justice and fairness.
I could vote tactically where I live but I am not going to. I will vote for Labour, giving my miniscule thumbs up to an investment economy rather than Johnson’s ‘divestment’ economy or the LibDems unworkable hotchpotch of self contradictory orthodoxy. I do this in the hope that although Labour might not win, their share of the vote might be higher and it is only the rather faulty system that fails to tell it how it really is.
I have watched Corbyn in action, and his shadow ministers. I do feel that I could have expressed the aims, objectives and benefits of his policies better than him and them. But there you go…………I did not try and my absence in all of this is a testament to my own failure to do something with my life and the common good.
It is entirely my own fault and I have only myself to blame if only for how I and my family might suffer under another 5 years of Tory hatred of their own country because that’s what it is………….the Conservative party we have now, hates us and hates the democracy we have too. Anything decent or balanced to these people is nothing more than a barrier to be removed and destroyed. That means everything, from Parliament to around half the population who find the Tories unconscionable as a party and as an idea. The Tory party even hates the people who will help it if it wins in the marginals. They are that bad.
Whatever happen this week, progressives everywhere will have learnt a lot. My feeling is the the UK could end up looking like a 1970’s south american country if Johnson gets in. But that didn’t stop people fighting for a better world in those times and in those countries.
And I think that it is crucial to remember that the Tory Right has alway been a reactionary political force that reacts when it thinks that its precedence is in doubt. The fact that the Tories are now quite extreme tells me that there is desperation at work here – fear even. 2008 and all that reified once and for all that the prevailing capitalist orthodoxy is inherently unstable and the sand was removed from many people’s eyes only to be kicked back in again. But it has not stuck this time with many. We will find out how many that ‘many’ is this week.
But make no mistake – extremism as seen in the Tory party is a sign of certain ideas feeling the pressure of change. Perversely, I am gladdened by that. But look not to your neighbours or work colleagues for blame on Friday. Keep your eyes instead on Boris and his band of thieves and crooks.
@ PSR
Not much to add to your comment as my own sentiments mirror yours. I’m fighting to fend off chronic pessimism. The bottom line is that many more people will have to experience personal & family deprivation before there’s any chance they’ll wake up to what they’ve sanctioned. How tragic is that, but was it ever thus with regard to human nature. As someone allegedly said: “Forgive them for they know not what they do”!
With RM’s permission – David Allen Green today adds further analysis confirming our fears – https://davidallengreen.com/2019/12/the-l-word-the-f-word-and-contemporary-uk-politics.
A propos the election itself, I watched NIgel Farage’s cringe-worthy interview with Sophy Ridge (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5IyvmX_BJg) in which he makes what is to me a valid point regarding how the main parties misunderstand where the Brexit Party influence effectively lies – most importantly in some of the Labour ‘heartlands’ – thus facilitating a Tory win. With the Remain vote split in the SE and SW between Labour and LibDem candidates, it readily opens the door for the Conservatives in many marginals (e.g., Canterbury).
Taking all this into account – the well documented lies, ‘popularism’, a clearer strategy skillfully managed by Lynton Crosby’s protégé Isaac Levido, financed by seriously big money, a compliant MSM, ‘dodgy’ local campaigning, etc. etc. – I wouldn’t be surprised if Johnson gets a significant working majority – which couldn’t come at a worse time economically, socially and environmentally.
I don’t know if I have the physical and emotional stamina to sit up all night on Thursday to witness the débâcle and listen to the excuses for failure. A masochist I am not so will probably just retire to bed as usual in a media & internet-free zone.
David Allen Green is always worth reading
This is excellent
Thanks John D for that David Allen Green link. What a magificent piece – encapsulates perfectly my own thoughts on the subject. As a sad watcher of events with no longer a vote in the UK, I can only watch & wait in dread of what may happen to the land of my birth on Thursday. Like you, I shall not stay up to watch.
L-word & F-word.
We have to start using the A-word. Abuse.
The PM & the remaining Torys abuse power. They abuse the poor and a whole lot more.
We always ask why people stay in abusive relationships and if you look up why that happens in a domestic environment you will see there is are parallels with political.
Fear, low self esteem, lost hope, peer pressure, lack of money, distrust of Authority, nowhere else to go.
Many believe the propaganda that this is the way things work.
The big danger is this will end violently because sometimes you rightfully have to act in self defence.
Richard this is one reason to fear Boris Johnson.
He refused to look at a photo a little boy who was laid on coats in a hospital floor suffering from pneumonia. What of man is he?
This is bad very bad.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-nhs-leeds-hospital-floor-jack-williment-phone-photo-a9239041.html
https://twitter.com/joepike/status/1204018593656180736
Someone once wittily said (I think it was me) “You’re never more than six seconds away from a Boris Johnson lie”
I do not get the line people have seen the end to neoliberalism because Johnson may get in. So if he gets in that means he has won the argument for a time, neoliberalism stays not ended. If it was to end Corbyn would be way ahead in the polls regardless of antisemitism, his faults or his politics, the tide of history would carry him regardless.
Now i would like to know how will the public react when the UK does not leave the EU after January 2020? Yeah I know Bojo will say we have left, but breixt will be a burning torch for years. So how will the public react to that? What if Bojo is so arrogant he goes for no deal regardless of the consequences and we are out in dec 2020?
https://www.politics.co.uk/comment-analysis/2019/12/09/revealed-newly-registered-voters-piling-up-outside-labour-s
The Youth Vote:
That article says the young vote have piled into safe areas and is bad for labour. Erm i think they are missing the point. It’s admitting the youth vote is indeed big, in fact it is massive. If true it would explain why the tories are buying up adds on facebook. I got three tory election rubbish – through the post to day. No labour, two were tory leaflets and one was a supportedly important letter from Boris, bu it was a leaflet in a envelope. I thought it was from parliament at first, then I remembered its closed.
So it seems the tories are pushing hard for the final straight, at least in the posting, no canvassers seen on streets from labour or tories in my area. So we have some indication the youth vote is indeed big, or shall i say instructive. If this is the case iit proves mine and other contributors the young have been under counted in polls and the polls indeed are biased in favour of the older person.
I personally think if labour loses badly Corbyn is finished, and so is the socialism we all wanted. It will go back to the centre or even start copying the tories and go centre right.To some extent this happened after the 1983 general election. If it is a landslide for the tories I cannot see labour ever getting in power for another 15 years. This is how long Thatcher and the Blair governments lasted. Of course it depends on how they handle brexit which could be their undoing.
Being in power for such a long time is very bad for a party, it becomes stagnant and stale. Is it possible considering Bojo’s bad management skills he could mess up Brexit? He will cause such havoc the public becomes so angry the government could fall even if they have a big majority in parliament ? For example if there are mass strikes, up and down the country, mass riots and so forth? I think two things will cause instability Brexit and privatisation of the NHS. If the tories are so cocky they may try to introduce charges ie get people to pay £10 per month start with and then go from there.
On a positive note I think it will be a hung parliament and the polls are way out. Also the polls are broadly similar to 2017.
I got that letter from Johnson as well
The choice of the yellow envelope was cynical
‘I do not get the line people have seen the end to neoliberalism because Johnson may get in. So if he gets in that means he has won the argument for a time, neoliberalism stays not ended.’
Darren, I am pretty certain that the extremism in the Tory party is a result of dying breed – that knows that it is on the way out. When even members and ex-members of the Tory party have criticised it strongly and the party has even kicked out democrats like Grieve who understands the rule of law.
Our lives are very short; history’s timeline is much longer and forever.
Those of us alive now can choose to see this as a doom laden time or one in which cracks in the orthodoxies have begun to appear. I choose the latter. It matters not that I might not live to see a better world because my life is finite and in the scheme of things sort of not very relevant. Things take time unfortunately.
My only challenge (besides getting my two kids educated and able to live in this world) is how to live out the remainder of my life as it is now and look to make a contribution someway towards the days renewed that will come. People like Johnson’s Tories end up destroying themselves in the end because they get too cocky and complacent.
A Tory majority is a possibility. The unseen war on the internet, under regulated, under reported is where a shock will come from in my view.
But I remain convinced that the narrowminded pursuit of power the Tories are on is basically a one way ticket to the end for them. The Tory party as we know it is finished in my view. They will come undone eventually.
I think you are right
I just wish it was a very short timeline
Yes your right but they will take us hell in a handbasket before it happens.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2gO4DKVpa8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGvZil0qWPg
https://www.coe.int/en/web/commissioner/-/misuse-of-anti-terror-legislation-threatens-freedom-of-expression
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3333366/Half-of-councils-use-anti-terror-laws-to-spy-on-bin-crimes.html
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/councils-use-anti-terror-laws-8806266
Nick Hanauer who is on the to 0.01% of the rich list, is warning if establishments in the West, do not change their neoliberal policies – two things will happen. The people will come after them the with pitchforks, and the elite will establish a police state to combat it. This has been echoed by the economist Mark Blyth.
The rising of the masses is already happening, brexit, SNP, brexit party, the tory party turning to the hard right, Trump, the rise of the far left and hard right across the world. The problem is if the tories win they win for 5,10 or 15 years. Many people cannot afford to wait that long. By that time the NHS will be dead and the UK could be possibly be in civil war or extremely unstable as result of inequality and brexit. The Union will be dead, the scots will cry freedom and the irish will be one nation on one island. But there is a caveat and a big one. Be Careful for what you wish for – look below.
English national governments will blame the Scots or the Irish, and ramp up tensions with them. These people will seek war to deflect attention, so it’s possible they would instigate a war with Scotland or Ireland etc. You think that is nuts, look at Yugoslavia and Russia. Both states had a political unions with the very people they are now threatening for generations. Serbian and Russian nationalist took over and look what happened. Georgia and Ukraine invaded, and Yugoslavia torn apart by civil war.
Boris is doing the same, blaming the other, the EU. But people will cry , “it will not happen to use we are english or british”. To answer than statement, is to tell them look at British history of the islands. It was a mess when it was unstable, war after war for hundreds of years., Competing factions vying for power and prestige. One such war ended with a dead king being buried in a ditch for hundreds of years.
So do not get me wrong the ramping up of english nationalism is not an isolated incident but it rose in part to the rise of the SNP, austerity and mass immigration. The SNP are using the same rhetoric Boris is using now, except that is ignored and Bojo is ignored by most of the media. When competing nationalism rise in a small space, It causes conflict, especially if that nationalism is a woken in the biggest country where it has long been dormant. Again i am looking at Russia here, and England and to some extent the USA
So the instruments of oppression are with us, the government is spying on us all, the threats to the state, media and the people. It is clear they know the people will rise up eventually, before they do they are putting in measures to stop it. I believe a police state is coming and it will be nasty. You think it will not lock people up or kill people? Well they have already established in people’s minds, that is ok to kill people without a trial.
Yeah is ok to “kill a terrorist, we have to be safe”, its “ok to deny women and kids” entry to the UK , after all they are a “threat to us”, so the line goes. The government is so brazen they admitted on national TV “we” canot bring them back because we have no evidence they are a threat, but they could be!. Do you get the point? If it can happen to them it can happen any one one us. Shot in the street, died in a police cell, no problem he is a terrorist with known links to others.
The fools in the public clap with glee not realising the same laws will be used to us. The anti terror laws passed by the government. Remember them? They haven’t just used them on people who have links to terrorism. Councils have used anti terror laws to threaten people who put their bins out too early or not filled right. Some tories want the sick who spend a lot of time on social media, ie facebook or twitter to lose their benefits, because they are “not really sick”.
So how will they find out? Either force one to hand over data or get the information from the offending platform. Facebook gleefully does that for the chinese government. So why not here in the UK? In fact Amazon has been given free access to all NHS data on us for free. Oh just get it from the government spy network themselves. Then of course the government wants to pass a law, where people who want to vote will need an ID. That cuts out many million off from voting. £20 charge per person with no food in cupboard or electricity on. Not a chance they will think the price is not worth paying as their vote is useless anyway.
As i have said before if we do not change, if the system carriers on, the pitchforks will come and the hamptons are not a defensible position.
The risk of another financial crisis should be of huge concern to the Labour party – almost to the point of flagging it up in the election.
It feels that little has been done to address many of the issues that led to the last financial crisis – which was laid squarely at the feet of Gordon Brown and the Labour party, but is much better explained in ‘The Big Short’.
Although the economy hasn’t really gone very far in the last decade, on a cyclical basis, a recession is now due which could potentially occur under whoever wins the election.
Conceivably, this could be assisted by those with the power to make things very difficult for the ‘wrong’ prime minister.
Those with the appropriate knowledge are able to make huge wealth in a falling economy and will happily benefit from the suffering and misery of the less financially mobile – a Labour government could give them an opportunity to tighten the taps and cause a bit of chaos!
I was thinking when a party wins the opposition who lost tries to copy them, especially if the winning party has a landslide. Do i think there will be a landslide no, more likely a hung parliament. I have detailed my reasons for that belief on here a few times.
The episode of Bojo not looking at the picture of the boy, on the floor in the hospital is very bad for him and the tories. I was very angry when i saw that interview, and at the same time i could not believe it. Also what was funny Bojo nicked the guys phone while being filmed. By all accounts this is very very strange behaviour from Boris and he controls our nukes.
Tories have rushed to defend him, one tweeter told me the PM does not have to have any virtue to be in the job. Also the propagandists for the tory party Preston and Kunsberg took a big hit today. The BBC should reprimand her and ITV do the same for Preston. Both have apologised but they have not deleted their tweets so any one can read it and see it out of context on its own.
Overall a good day for labour, the crowd for Corbyn at Bristol was amazing. I think if labour loses the election by a small majority Corbyn should stay on. I do not want him to go any way but if he loses by a big margin he probably will. Still the crowds were great, the stupid mistakes of Bojo being nasty will grate a lot of tory voters, some will be shocked, other will not care. Here is to brave new world that is just round the corner.
I hope God is smiling on us on thursday.
As CO2 concentrations pass 420ppm and rising more quickly, do we still have a 50:50 chance of preventing dangerous climate change?
I think we all know that, without quick and substantial action, and magic technology, the answer is “no”, so things are going to get very ugly. To echo Darren’s last point, God help us all.