It is the ‘silly season' when serious political debate almost ceases, the Mail prints stupid stories about Welsh people trying to get NHS treatment in England, and most people ignore sites like this to go on holiday.
I reviewed the papers this morning to see if anything might be there off which I could bounce an idea, and came up with nothing. So, instead let me muse for a moment on a fleeting idea I had in the night, which is to ask ‘what is the point of us in all this?'
The idea came to me, was appropriately filed in the back of my brain at the time, and as far as I know I returned to sleep. But the question seems to be appropriate.
Having reflected on it this morning, there are at least three dimensions to it.
The first is to ask whether politics is done to us, or are we a part of it?
The second might be similar with regard to the economy, which is do we have any real control at all about this?
The third is to ask what we can do about the answers to the first two questions.
I can recall a time when I thought politics was done to us, but I was quite young, and the sentiment reflected the reality of that moment for me.
By the time I was at university I felt that we could do politics. Of course, our involvement would be incomplete and the influence might be limited, but the same would be true for everyone. But I thought we all had a chance to effect change, either via politics itself or through single issue campaigning.
I knew this was not true for the Tories. They had dictated a line to their membership for decades, but on the left I felt that influence was possible. Occasionally I even felt I was exercising it.
And then along came Keir Starmer. Everyone I talk to says the same thing of him, including those who are quite senior in Labour. They know the requirement is to toe the line or get out. They also know that ideas must now flow from the centre (if there are any ideas, that is) and alternative opinion is not required.
Lobbying, making submissions, preparing submissions to conferences; all these things have become utterly pointless now. Labour HQ has closed its mind, just like the Tories. Politics inside the two party system is no longer a participatory activity.
That's a bit like the economy really. I thought, once upon a time, that by being engaged in the economy I made a difference. And of course that was true. This country would be lost without the jobs small and medium sized enterprises create. But, the reality is that the economy is run by a tiny number of large companies that do not give a damn for competition, entrepreneurship, markets or anything but the crude making of money, most especially by regulatory arbitrage, exploitation and rent extraction if any of these possibilities are available. There is nothing smaller business can do about that. If it threatens the status quo it is bought to end the disruption. That is because large companies do not buy smaller companies to exploit their best ideas; they buy them to kill both the company and the ideas off.
So, back to the question, what is the point of us in all this? I used to think there was still some. Maybe I am so angry with Starmer because he has killed that idea for me, because I am not sure that ‘the system' really does have any regard for anyone outside it anymore.
I do nit think I am alone. And I also think that there has been a reaction. I am not in the slightest bit surprised by the rise in direct action. I admire those with the courage to do it. I think there will be a great deal more of it. It is necessary. When lines of communication are closed protest inevitably follows. It has to unless violent oppression is in use.
Strikes are another inevitable reaction. Given that profiteering continues, with inflation doing so as a consequence and with people suffering as a result, more strikes are also inevitable.
And so too is tactical voting. Once it was anything but Conservative (ABC) but I now think it's anything but the neoliberal hegemony (ABN) of the Tories and Labour. People have had enough.
So, what is the point of us? I didn't seek to resolve my rhetorical question during the night, but have now. Protest in its varying forms is our purpose now. It is the option left to us that we have no choice but use.
This blog and my tweeting are a part of my protest. We must each make protest in whatever form we can. But make it, we must.
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A very thoughtful post.
My personal take on the ‘what is us’ question is that we are those who have been seeking answers about certain things we’ve noticed over the years.
I view myself as a ‘refusenik’ or even a ‘rejectionist’ of contemporary life – it’s the only way I can retain a sense of self or control but also of reality.
I tend not to see much of our lives as naturally determined at all – we are swimming in tides that are driven by vested interests. I never really felt part of it – I just tend to feel unconnected to it like an observer yet I too am really part of it too. There is no feeling of superiority or anything like that – just an overwhelming distaste.
But I also have another more recent feeling in that I think we’ve been had – big time.
And I’m really angry about that.
It certainly is a problem that we await the population waking up from their mesmerised slumber under uncontrolled capitalism. Once people realise that they have nothing to lose but their chains, things will start moving. Tthe development of Extinction Rebellion, Just Stop OIl and other nonviolent direct action groups is encouraging in the UK but not on a large enough scale yet. The protests in France shows what an angered and frustrated population can do but is met by overwhelming police brutality as in Germany and the US too. Gandhi took decades of civil resistance to gain Indian freedom and Martin Luther KJing the same for black rights in the US, not to mention Mandella’s long imprisonment in South Africa to rid the Aparteed system there Of course our mass media is paid to produce not news and discussion but trivial amusement and distracting celebnty scandals etc. Therefor blogs like Richard’s are an essential way forward to positive change..
The history of Parliament is a history of ‘contest’. In this tradition the line is drawn across a floor (measured by drawn swords), contested by Government and Opposition. The rise of Parliament itself however is not really a function of that contest. The rise of Parliament to Sovereignty was conducted by the rise of money, as power. He (or she) who controls money and tax controls sovereignty; that is it. Politics began with religion and dynasty, but inevitably moved on to money in some of its endlessly protean forms; mercantilism, imperialism, capitalism, or now neoliberalism. Politically in Britain neoliberalism has now reduced politics to mere rote, meaningless ritual. It has no substance.
I believe this site understands that. Stick to money and tax. That is where the real action remains.
Party politics is “for the birds” (an expression that apparently refers to the fact that birds could extract value – seeds – from horse droppings). Party politics is for the birds: Party in neoliberalism is solely about winning elections; not doing anything, or changing anything. This has become so refined and established a cheap, repeatable trick under FPTP, that there is no longer any real opposition; there is just one neoliberal programme; with the media and politicians setting agendas guaranteed to produce the same result, whoever wins.
The only real substantive politics tenuously left in Britain is literally peripheral; the politics of Union.
Sticking to money and tax isn’t enough. The people can’t do anything to control that.
What we can do is try and control what happens to the NHS, public transport, energy, education, etc.
Yes, we’ve been duped by the government and big companies but we can try and fight back through groups like KONP and weownit.
Cat on weownit has always said they don’t do party politics, and the chat was often stopped when people mentioned it. Not any more.
There are a lot of fronts to fight on, but the NHS is the most important to me. We can’t allow it to go the way of the US. We are always being told so by Americans who have come over here and used our NHS.
I would love to be able to get out and join a demo outside a hospital or at a railway station, but I know I can’t. So I do my bit by passing the message on to as many people as I can. Even my Danish daughter in law has said she would like to join an XR demo, and she doesn’t have a vote in this country although she has been paying tax here for over 20 years. The government even wants to take away their right to vote in local elections; they are that mean.
That’s why we have to fight in whatever way we can.
End of ramble. Michael Rosen would call this ‘unfolding’.
Micheal is right
It is how Parliament came to power. Without the money and tax leverage
it possessed little substantive power. Pressing levers that are not connected to anything much (or anything affective) will achieve very little. It would be nice if you were right; but candidly I don’t see it. The two major Parties seem to be handling the current discontent sufficiently to achieve thei main aim: change nothing much.
After the Voltaire quote the other day it doesn’t seem unreasonable to me to state that Starmer is a shamster politician believing in two core lies; that the comfort of the rich depends on an abundant supply of the poor and necessarily accompanying this that the government has no money of its own. Obviously he’s not the only politician believing these lies most do but it’s the expunging of these two core lies that offer the only true way forward for this country.
I think that the vast major of people don’t want revolution, but want the results of revolution. Thinking back to Corbyn’s time, his “vision” had much merit, but Corbyn himself was maligned to the extent that the public could not accept him making the changes (at least that’s what they were told).
As the American economist Thomas Sowell said: “When you want to help people, you tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear.” The Right are much better at this than the Left.
Ian, your comment made me think of this article in The Observer.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/aug/13/tory-attack-on-labour-donors-could-backfire-spectacularly
Richard, are you aware of OCISA, a group of Left Wing activists who are looking to unseat Starmer at the next election https://linktr.ee/ocisa_unseatstarmer?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=707574cc-55e3-4bcb-a124-4d721292c4bc
They are looking for a “well known robust left wing figure” to run as their candidate. Just sayin’
On a related note, if there is a lesson to be learned from the SNP and the likes of UKIP/Brexit Party, it’s that running a campaign on a single issue with a clear message gets results and can change the political landscape forever. We’ve seen how Farage and co successfully moved the Tories to the right and forced through their beloved Brexit without getting a single MP, and how the SNP have obliterated Labour and the Tories in Scotland.
I think putting up protest candidates to run against certain high-profile MPs is an idea worth exploring.
For example, one could run a “No Second Jobs for MPs” candidate against the MP for Tottenham or a “Keep the NHS Public” candidate against our Shadow Health Secretary, or maybe “End Austerity Politics” candidate against our future Chancellor.
The candidate might not be successful but it would be a way of highlighting a particular issue and it could be a shot across the bows for the incumbent reminding them they are there to serve the public, not the other way around. It would also be a place for the protest voters and those that feel disenfranchised by politics in general to place their votes.
Sorry – buit if you are serious why call yourself Adult Eddie?
You undermine yourself from the outset
I’m reminded of the Naked Gun/Police Squad gag:
“Surely, you can’t be serious”
“I am serious and don’t call me Shirley”
Adult Eddie is a handle I’ve used posting on this site before. I chose it because I have a background working in Adult Education and was commenting on a post about that subject. I prefer not to use my real name. I hope that’s okay.
I had hoped I was making some helpful points, but I will endeavour to try and come across as less flippant in future.
A very thoughtful and sobering post – thank you.
I agree with all you’ve written and the view of PSR, that “we’ve been had – big time”.
Thirteen year of a conservative government and a Labour party whose plan is to say nothing, do nothing and eventually they’ll get elected – not on their merit – simply by the fact a large share of the UK population is rightly disappointed with the present government and all it stands for.
There’s such a lack of vision from all UK leaders. They are all looking backward and trying to govern by nostalgia. We need big new policies.
In a world dominated by liars a blog like yours, and others of the same kind, that attempt honestly and rationally to get to the truth is invaluable.
Not only does it offer a place where the national conversation, that the dishonest work so hard to suppress, can take place, but it also directly or indirectly moves other media sources nearer the truth.
A good example is the Guardian, a Liberal newspaper that recommended voting for Margaret Thatcher in 1979 and Cameron in 2010, is now finally close to accepting that the Tories are a kind of Democratic, Economic and Social pestilence.
Of course, I am not saying that your blog is entirely responsible for that change but every little bit helps.
I am certainly not claiming responsibility
But thanks
‘Lobbying, making submissions, preparing submissions to conferences; all these things have become utterly pointless ‘
It does seem we are only a virtual democracy . Apparently someone has been threatened with arrest for holding up a placard about the right of a jury to come to their own decision.
‘Protest’ is Richard’s conclusion.
But just because Labour’s ‘central committee’ won’t countenance ideas, submissions, motions etc – doesnt mean that promoting ideas – both here and through submissions, demonstrations, motions, pieces and letters in the press, etc shoudn’t also be part of the protest.
Just because they say we can’t have ideas doesn’t mean we have to accept it.
I agree with that!
“It does seem we are only a virtual democracy”
True. Starmer has ousted a range of Left-leaning candidate. The people of Islington North no longer have a choice as to who their Labour candidate will be (Corbyn has been banned). It sounds conspiratorial, but it looks like we’re following in American footsteps: “the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London concluded that, while the US pays lip service to democracy, the real commitment is to “private, capitalist enterprise.” (quoted from Noam Chomsky, https://chomsky.info/unclesam02/ )
Chomsky is quite astute, he continues:
“According to the common-sense meaning, a society is democratic to the extent that people can participate in a meaningful way in managing their affairs. But the doctrinal meaning of democracy is different—it refers to a system in which decisions are made by sectors of the business community and related elites. The public are to be only “spectators of action,” not “participants,” as leading democratic theorists (in this case, Walter Lippmann) have explained. They are permitted to ratify the decisions of their betters and to lend their support to one or another of them, but not to interfere with matters—like public policy—that are none of their business.” (Source: Noam Chomsky, How the World Works).
Having had similar reflections, I have concluded that our only (slim) hope would be the introduction of participative democracy, aka sortition, by which all policy would be made by deliberative assemblies that are representative by design (being stratified samples of the population). Experts, such as you, Richard, could give testimony to such assemblies. Van Reybrouck makes the point well in his “Against Elections” (contrasted with selection). This also addresses the “tyranny of the minority party” problem associated with (unadorned) proportional representation and, thus, is compatible with it. This is probably the thing best worth fighting for, though vested interests will be strongly against (true of any change worth having).
But is it democratic?
Or am I looking for the wrong sort of democracy now?
I certainly think it is democratic. Unlike the current parliament, policy decisions are made by a body (or bodies) that is (by design) representative. Unlike a referendum, and more like a jury, the decision making body can, and will be expected to, inform itself including through expert testimony. This article by Bouricius makes it clear that this notion is much closer to the original meaning of democracy (in Athens).
https://delibdemjournal.org/article/id/428/
Thanks
I will keep it in mind
Might authoritarianism be an unavoidable associated factor of longer term neoliberalism?
Yes
I would suggest that the first hurdle we need to address or protest we need to make is FPTP. Our two main parties are more focused on winning seats under the current system than serving the interests of the majority.
At the last election 38,000 votes got us a Tory MP but it took 800,000 votes to get us a Green one. This is very obviously unjust but it also highlights the majority appetite there is for progressive policies that are being denied by FPTP.
At the last election over 56% of those of us that voted wanted something other than a Tory government….but we got a Tory government with a massive majority in the Commons.
Policies such as you promote Richard for tax and fiscal reform are eminently sensible and, more importantly, just and with a wider understanding within the electorate would, I am sure, be seen as such and heavily supported.
If people were confident that their vote was counting towards policies that they believed in then we would be a long way towards achieving a society that secures “the greatest good for the greatest number of people”. This, in turn, would lead to enhanced engagement as it began to be realised that one’s vote really does count.
Currently we have two parties gaming the system to gain niche swing votes…..that is not democracy.
That is why I am a member of the Electoral Reform Society. I outsource that part of my protest to them.
May l also suggest MakeVotesMatter as a very informative source.
https://www.makevotesmatter.org.uk/
It seems clear that the UK as currently constituted can never be restructured effectively as long as FPTP determines the outcome of elections and the representation of parties in Westminster. With both the Tories and Labour determined to keep FPTP in order to ensure their ascendency in UK politics, we are all at the mercy of elective dictatorships for the foreseeable future. In UK General Elections the votes of the electorate of the devolved nations generally don’t affect the outcome, such is the numerical supremacy of English seats and voters. Now consider the situation in the devolved nations of the UK – Scotland Wales and NI. Their parliaments are elected using PR: STV (Single Transferable Vote) in NI, & AMS (Additional Member System) in Scotland and Wales. Without going into the fine detail of these methods, they tend to encourage consensual politics in contrast to the highly confrontational ruler-takes-all politics seen at Westminster.
So what is the future of the UK if elections to Westminster enable the Tories or Labour to rule absolutely and with scant regard for the opinions or wellbeing of the devolved nations, who are by now accustomed to more democratic representation in their own parliaments? In particular, what can Scotland or Wales do to protect themselves in or secede from a Union which has (certainly from Thatcher on) exploited them? NI is in a different position, given that the Belfast Agreement sets out a secession route if the electorate so choose. The inequality of Scotland and Wales in this respect is stark and speaks volumes about England’s proprietorial attitude towards them. It will certainly be ironic if the UK falls apart as a result of England’s two biggest parties defending FPTP in order to exploit so-called British Democracy for their own ends.
Thanks for the post and conclusion – “We must each make protest in whatever form we can. But make it, we must.”
We also need to have mind to the intended outcomes and unintended ones. We want to create an impact that will lead to a change in how the country works? – To a more equitable distribution of and access to resources?
And unless you go down the path of revolution to destroy the status quo, that means persuading people to work to change the laws and rules – and that is through parliament, and so by political parties, and tactical voting. In the coming general election the biggest parties will be Labour and Conservative – tactical voting objecting to both could send a message, but at the substantial risk of also returning the Tories again, as the only significant numbers of tactical voters are on the left spectrum, unless you live where LibDems are strong (or Brighton!).
I really don’t think the Tories are getting back in
I may be wrong, but I think that likelihood long gone
Mr Love,
The problem is, tactical voting in an FPTP system may well have some impact at the margin; but is unlikely to have sufficient purchase on the end result to change the system. It needs proportional representation, and that would finish the two Party system altogether. The Conservative and Labour Party are monster Turkeys, and they will never, ever vote for Christmas. Your thought is therefore on an endless closed loop; just tell me how it happens?
Just because labour party members are not allowed to vote tactically doesn’t mean they can’t. Who is to know? Voting is secret.
Over 200,000 members have left or been ejected from the party, an average of over 300 in every constituency. That’s a lot of people who can persuade their friends that voting for anyone but labour and tory will get a different world.
In the north east trible loyalties disappeared in 2019. Now, with Jamie Driscoll being told he can’t stand for labour as north east mayor, lots will think they can’t go back to labour.
In County Durham at the last council elections there were a lot of independents voted in, but they have shown their true blue colours now by being coralled with the tories in the council.
If we can persuade people that if they want change the best thing they can do is vote for a person or a party that definitely wants PR, it should happen.
Done to us is about right. I see it another way. Representing the cool people of the UK is a privilege. To exercise that privilege the cool people should put strict boundaries within which a lot of freedom is possible. You get an MP salary and you live off it. If you want another job on the side F off. All decisions requiring difficult trade offs are to be referred to citizens assemblies. (Ones like climate adaptation and measures hitting lifestyle.) You know where to go if you don’t like that. And you can’t lie. All liers can F off too. I’m sure there are more boundaries, feel like we need to be parents to these spoilt delinquents.
Perhaps all we have left is protest, and that too is being restricted. But the more we are restricted in what we can do the more important it becomes that we actually do what we can.
Ghandi is reputed to have said to one of his followers “What you can do may seem insignificant but it is very important that you do it.”
[…] Cross-posted from Richard Murphy’s blog […]
We should all support The Good Law Project here, and protest even more if this woman is jailed.
https://goodlawproject.org/trudi-warner-climate-jury-facing-prison/
Excellent thoughtful argument again. Protest & making the argument for the normalcy of independence for my nation is what I am engaged in. To that end I put aside the nagging doubt that I could be pestering you but you did say you would take a look at Prof John Doyle’s appraisal of the Welsh economy following independence & perhaps offer an opinion on its import?
So, in the spirit of maintaining protest, if you could you find time in your unbelievably busy schedule, I would be very grateful.
Will I grovel a little to further the freedom of my nation? Yes! I certainly will!
https://assets.nationbuilder.com/plaid2016/pages/12081/attachments/original/1664447377/The_Fiscal_Deficit_in_Wales_-_why_it_does_not_represent_an_accurate_picture_of_the_opening_public_finances_of_an_Independent_Wales_by_Prof_John_Doyle_-.pdf?1664447377
Right now work on tax is taking all my available time
Whilst in Edinburgh about 10 days ago, I went to a Fringe event: Iain Dale in conversation with Penny Mordaunt. I’ve always been ambivalent about Mordaunt. I’ve wanted to like her, because I’ve thought there was more to her than just being a Tory; but then she’s disappointed me. However, the Fringe event persuaded me that there actually IS more to her. In the House during the post-Johnson debate on the “kangaroo court” comments from MPs, she was fearless in her criticism of the MPs concerned, and the absolute requirement to respect Parliamentary process. As a result, the Usual Tory Suspects condemned her.
Interestingly, a number of other Tories supported her – and Harriet Hartman – to the hilt.
I wonder whether there are now enough MPs from both sides of the House who are so disenchanted (or even disgusted) by the wreckage of our democratic process that they might be open to some form of cooperation?
When people say that, I always look at the MP’s voting record on theyworkforyou.com
Penny Mordaunt has rebelled exactly 15 times since she became an MP in 2010. She has rebelled 3 times since 2019. She has always voted for a reduction in benefits, even when opening a foodbank in her constituency.
https://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?id=uk.org.publicwhip/member/42573#divisions
Don’t be taken in, like we all were by Starmer.
I agree with your conclusion. A lot of interesting responses as well.
However, until we neuter the press, owned by non-dom tax-avoiding billionaires, we stand no chance of shifting the narrative. Then there is the (well-known ‘lefty’ organisation) BBC, Radio 4 that yesterday allowed, unchallenged, the Health Secretary to claim consultants would retire on a tax-free pension of £74,000! The BMA put out a series of Tweets refuting this but of course, it is far too late. The independent outlets are all very good as well including various individuals who campaign but they are all up against bot farms and the ‘cult’ who believe, still believe that Johnson was some kind of genius.
There are ways of tackling this – illegally – but what form of protest isn’t illegal now? I would like to think that if enough people get on the streets then the authorities will be overwhelmed. George Monbiot has some depressing thoughts on that idea.