UKIP is now a shambles.
Labiur is profoundly divided.
The LibDems are decimated.
The SNP are a force all to themselves, but umderstandably only in Scotland.
The Tories are already revealing deep rifts over Brexit.
Meanwhile the country needs leadership as it disintegrates as a consequence of Brexit, a process reflected in its political parties.
There is opportunity in this situation for real political leadership.
My fear is that this might still come from the far right, whether within or beyond the now dominant extremist wing of the Tory party.
This whole situation might still play out without disaster ensuing. But there is no guarantee of that.
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Again I think that you are right – disintegration of our society and country will come and maybe it is beginning to happen right now because of forces stoked up by the Cameron Government(a contradiction in terms) and ‘UShit’ .
But what I see happening in politics is more like a form of stagnation. As though the growth of progressive ideas or even genuine problem solving has just stopped. Policy now seems to be issued as a small number of palliatives aimed at just shaving a few percentage points off of the problem, rather than any bigger objective. It’s almost bashful in its delivery.
The new Adam Curtis film on iPlayer (sorry to bang on about it Richard) seems to suggests that this is because of perception management in the media, by the media who seem to sow the seeds of confusion and just create a sense of disbelief amongst the population about almost anything.
And if people do not believe in something, there is a vacuum waiting to be filled – usually by something out of the swamp like UKIP or the BNP.
An example: The Daily Mail gets left around a lot at work and I have been monitoring its front pages – you’d think that we were at war. But then it aligns itself with a cause – like Hillsborough – to give itself some sort of sheen of ‘humanity’ and then the very next day goes on the warpath against immigrants or Corbyn.
In terms of politics the Mail supports the Tories, hates Labour but loves BREXIT even more. There is no doubt it is calling the tune. Even some Tories complain of a ‘Daily Mail’ government. And even if we had a genuinely good leader appear in an opposition party, they would be portrayed as the enemy within and/or as idealists whose new ideas were bonkers and a danger to human kind.
Who in their right mind would want to be such a politician when the mob already has its leaders in the Mail, the Sun and the Telegraph? The problem is the neo-lib oiks like the chap we spoke about yesterday creep in instead who just help to keep the status quo going and then politics and democracy are stymied.
This sort of sabre rattling/shield bashing rhetoric in the media (no doubt also stirred up by press officers/campaign managers within the Tory Government when it benefits them) is making this country worse, making it nasty – people are being wound up.
The only way to deal with this is to bring the media who are doing it under some sort of control because really what they are doing is nothing but incitement which I thought was some sort of criminal offence. Well, lets prosecute the bastards – that’s what I say (sorry to be so prosaic). What the media are doing is very dangerous indeed and a threat to national security.
Do they know when to stop? Are there any limits? How many more Jo Coxes do we need until they get it?
Much as I hate what they say I do not think there is justification for interfering with the press
An interesting response Richard – and I can well imagine why you have said this given the humanity you bring to your work.
Some of the things I advocate seem to be setting us off on a very perilous path – I agree. But it does tend to leave those of us who advocate social justice with no or fewer options about how we can be heard in the face of overwhelming irrationality. This is where I therefore reluctantly separate from you – I am willing to take that risk intellectually because I am not sure how reason can progres in a supercharged age of unreason.
But then again YOU are the pragmatic campaigner; I am just a reader. So I do understand your position.
I agree with you, I feel like the gutter press set the terms of the debate and drag us all down, but they’re only printing what sells, as unfortunate as that is.
I agree Richard but then again I despair of any positive change happening. Somewhat depressingly, I tend to agree more with the conclusions of PSR and as an example of the power of the press, the Daily Express today claimed food prices will go **down** when we leave the EU.
So, digging a bit deeper we find it was based on a report by the ‘Institute of Economic Affairs’ which is a free market think-tank…surprise surprise, founded by Antony Fisher a buddy of Hayek no less. Why is it possible to set up what is basically a propaganda organisation and call it an ‘institute’?
The press can invent stories or at least sail very close to the wind regarding facts and truth, so the general populace is not informed, hence the Brexit vote. Another example is that of the Murdoch group disparaging wind power, solar farms etc but we find that they have their fingers in fracking companies. The daily Mail is owned by holding companies in Bermuda and channel islands, naturally but they claim to promote Britishness and sovereignty.
I’m sure this is known buth this quote gives an insight:
“Since 1995, three years before the Hon Jonathan Harmsworth (as he then was) inherited the Daily Mail & General Trust plc empire from his father, the 3rd Viscount, the group has been controlled through a company, Rothermere Continuation Ltd, registered in Bermuda but run from Jersey (one offshore specialist told the Eye that companies registered in Britain’s Caribbean overseas territories have the advantage of being “very portable”).”
When looking back, I can see that the Cameron leadership was possibly the worst in my memory (and that goes back to ’64 when I woke up to politics!).
I am sure you are right on Cameron
I would agree
Maybe worse than Thatcher….
The extreme and obsessive right has taken over the government. Theresa May appears cavalier about the necessity of having a workable Brexit plan. As today’s news shows she seems to prefer being pre-occupied by her xenophobia as though that is the only thing of importance.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/theresa-may-plans-targeted-visa-system-cabinet-brexit-latest-a7368446.html