Having spent rather too much of the night in pain with an abscess under a tooth, for which my dentist prescribed an antibiotic yesterday that only seems to be taking effect right now, I am not full of my usual enthusiasm for early morning writing. I hope you will, then, excuse some brevity.
I did, however, think that there was something to note from my situation. The tooth in question has been a recurring pain in an otherwise relatively easy dental history. Just about everything bar removing it, which I remain reluctant to do, has been tried and I just live with the knowledge that every now and again a flare up of this sort is going to happen, as it has, once more. Am I being a wimp for not facing the inevitable fact that one say it and I will probably have to part company after an occasionally fraught relationship lasting decades? Or is it just the unknown of what happens thereafter that uncharacteristically leaves me prevaricating and living with occasional pain?
My thought is that isn't the countries relationship with the Tories much the same? Decades of experience shows that they are annoying, an occasional profound pain, and in need of being cleansed by a dose of resignations, expulsions and reformations every now and again. And yet they survive largely because those of a certain age - and this is now, undoubtedly, an age thing - just can't face getting rid of what they know to be basically rotten within them.
The fear is, what else is there? We know of Farage's ability to fill a void, and rightly despise it.
At the same time we know that there is that terribly safe, older, personal wealth orientated (and sod the consequences for the children, even if they are their own) group in society who need political representation. As do those who see their interests as aligned with those of business ownership also want to be represented. But what we now know is that neither is having their voice heard.
The current Tory party is in no way helping business.
Brexit has profoundly failed in the promise it made to many older people who voted for it, and again age was an issue here.
And these people are not extremists. I don't share their small c conservatism, but that is what they are and nothing about the modern Conservative Party is remotely like that. The behaviour of Johnson would appear to appall many of them, as it does those who were never enamoured with him.
In this case the rottenness appears to have reached the stage where removal is required. The Conservative Party as it now is would appear to be beyond redemption, being populated now by people who challenge each other in their stupidity and brazen support for unforgivable lawlessness that borders on depravity.
The left often thinks it needs a new party, whether to the left or right of Labour, to whose carcass both sides still cling, which is why change will not happen. But there is a need for renewal on the right as well if our democracy is to be meaningful. A party for those who supported Rory Stewart, Dominic Grieve and David Gauke, if you like. I don't, but at least I can respect them, which I struggle to say about almost any current Tory MP.
But this requires those of that wing to embrace democracy, PR, genuine reform and the need to cooperate to deliver it.
I am a democrat. That requires that the right wing be present in debate. I desire their presence, if only to have the pleasure of seeing them beaten. What I do not want any longer is the rotten neo-fascist party the Tories have become.
The problem for the Tories is getting rid of Johnson now changes little or nothing. My antibiotic may well save my tooth for a while longer. A new Tory leader cannot, I suspect, do the sane trick for the Conservatives. The Party is now rotten to its core. It needs to be removed from the body politic because it is no longer democratic, law abiding, or willing to partake in our unwritten constitutional arrangements, which it perpetually abuses.
However, it can't go until enough people on the right think they have an alternative, which for many the LibDems and Labour are not, maybe one election apart.
So are there people of courage to rid us of the Tory rottenness? It is one of the many questions needing answers now within politics if the malign influence of populism is to be curtailed. The stakes are high. The survival of our democracy might well depend on this happening.
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I would advise having it pulled, titanium plugs (in jaw) and synthetic tooth. You have my sympathies, been there, bought the tee shirt etc.
“At the same time we know that there is that terribly safe, older, personal wealth orientated (and sod the consequences for the children, even if they are their own) group in society who need political representation”.
Spoke to one of those last night. His view: nationalisation of rail, buses, electricity networks, water & sewage, NHS funded fit for purpose etc etc. Exactly the 2017 Labour manifesto. Libore as is will not do this & they would view my business partner as a “trot” for the views he holds – although he is very much a conservative with a small c.
However, one needs to work with what one has. One way forward is tactical voting to ensure some kind of coalition gov with proportional representation as a manifesto pledge and a 3-line whip to get it through parliament. Legislation could also address the way in which citizens take part in democracy. On tha subject, I made a substantial donation to Pidcocks People Assembly last night – because I think it is pointing in the right direction. Liebore as is, will never, ever see any of my money. I would be happy to see it go into liquidation. It is not fit for purpose. Doubtless some oligarchs will fund it.
Only a government of MP’s elected by PR and committed to a promoting a fair society through cooperation will begin to erase the awful social and economic effects of this “malign influence of populism”
The recent Electoral Reform Society briefing shows how The Elections Bill is being rushed through parliament with the aim of introducing voter ID, restricting the independence of the Electoral Commission, imposing FPTP for mayors and Police & Crime Commissioners amongst other contentious issues which weaken our already fragile democracy. https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/latest-news-and-research/parliamentary-briefings/briefing-on-the-elections-bill-report-stage/
Readers may wish to join the MVM Elections Bill Protest in Parliament Square on Saturday 5th Feb
https://www.makevotesmatter.org.uk/local-meetings/2022/2/5/london-elections-bill-protest.
Setting aside unlikely outcomes like my preferred result of a Green majority, of the realistic possibilities I’m starting to think that the optimal result would be a hung parliament with the Tories as the biggest party and a strong Lib Dem showing. If Labour are the biggest party I think Starmer would rather turn down a formal arrangement with the Lib Dems than accept PR, and would instead try to govern as a minority government.
However, while the Lib Dems would never support the Tories, both because of what they have become and the wipeout it led to last time, if the Tories are the biggest party and if the numbers are there for a viable Tory-Lib Dem partnership, it strengthens the Lib Dem position and weakens Labour’s position to where Labour would be more likely to have to accept PR as a condition of support. Labour need to be strong enough to be able to form a government but weak enough that they can’t refuse PR.
We would also get the added bonus of seeing how the Mail and Telegraph would react to the Tories having “won” the election but not getting to form the government.
Tories rotten to the core? Incompetent as well!
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jan/27/guy-hands-terra-firma-annington-homes-mod-ministry-defence
Underpants man and his gov’ as bad as the current crop of morons & chancers.
In some ways their incompetence irks me more than their rottenness. I would have thought that those who support what they are doing would at least want it to be done competently, but, apparently not.
The first-past-the-post voting system inevitably forces voters into choosing their least worst preference of the two from runners, the more populist most likely to win. The antidote to populism would be representative democracy but it’s nowhere to be seen NONE of those 56% who didn’t vote Tory are represented in government. MPs that are blocking PR offer two arguments:
1. The 56% are represented by the Opposition whose job it is to “hold the government to account”. But this is an impossibility. The Opposition is powerless when there is a surplus of 79 MPs on the governments benches.
2. MPs claim to represent all their constituents in Parliament. But that’s another impossibility. When voting in an HoC debate, they troop into lobbies. When representing those constituents that voted for them, they will march into one lobby, but if they were to represent those that didn’t vote for them, they would have to troop into the other lobby.
The question is how to get us into representative democracy. The Tories won’t. The Lib Dems, Green and SNP et al are powerless. So it’s up to Labour. Actually 80% of Labour members want PR and it was only the Unions that blocked a vote for PR at last years party conference. Sine then the Unions are coming round to the idea – Unite in the lead. Currently the biggest impedance is Starmer who seems to need to sit on the fence. He’s the dentist who can pull the tooth. Put PR into their manifesto – and we’ll all vote Labour.
Meanwhile efforts at creating a Progressive Alliance against the Tories have been running for years. But it’s a big ask for smaller parties to offer up their votes and has hardly ever worked. Basically it’s now up to concerned members of the public to pile pressure on Starmer – and now’s quite a good time.
Agreed
Thanks
I think that the Tory party cannot be reformed from the inside because within it is a core of reactionaries who just reject modernism – pluralism, social mobility, accountability, more liberal ideas on most things – they want to conserve something – even if it has already been lost.
And it’s not just their aging membership is it – look at Raab, look at Patel – not exactly old farts?
What keeps the Tories going is money as well – lots of money and lots of money-power too. It’s being imbued with power and arrogance (have you seen the bare-faced arrogance of Rees-Mogg? Incredible) that keeps them going too – ‘the natural party of Government’ bollocks that you hear of.
They will not go easily into the night. Only something external in my view can rid us of them. And it may take some time.
Because they and their financiers have a lot to lose.