Political whack-a-mole

Well that went well didn't it?

An unecessary election, called for dishonourable reasons, has delivered a new problem. Westminster has turned into political whack-a-mole; no sooner do we see off one bonkers idea, another appears.

Like planets aligning for the briefest of moments, in June 2016 a number of different players and agendas overlapped briefly to create havoc in our country.
  • David Cameron's breathtaking arrogance in calling a referendum whilst failing to apply proper safeguards.
  • Nigel Farage's personal obsession with destroying the EU.
  • Boris Johnson's journalistic-mendacity in service of his own amusement and self-advancement.
  • Michael Gove's naked ambition.
  • Aaron Banks's greed and quest for power.
  • Theresa May's opportunistic power-grab.
  • Disingenuous and poisonous tabloid campaigns to protect their own interests
  • A rise in nationalism and populist-extremism
  • Alleged interference from Russian bots seeking to disrupt our democracy
  • A justly disaffected electorate, weary with austerity.
Fuelled by all these and more, on the slimmest of margins, a fiasco was born.

Since then, a stunned but furiously determined subset of the population has fought tirelessly to rescue the country and to reel us back from the cliff-edge. They have persisted in the face of one obstacle after another and this morning it seemed they may have won an important battle. Mr Cameron can relax, safe in the knowledge that his recklessness has now been matched by that of Mrs May; his might not be the worst own-goal against the Tory party (and the country) in living memory.

The Remoaners, as they were sneeringly labelled, forced Mrs May to abandon her Henry VIII Clause and instead to reaffirm the sovereignty of Parliament in instigating massive constitutional change. They have seen off UKIP, pushed back against the relentless rightward-drag of the last government and at last, the tide appears to have turned.

The embracing of Corbyn is also the result of a complex interweaving of motivations from the exuberant optimism of youth to socialist idealism to pragmatic tactical voting. But it has stopped, at least for a while, the Tory juggernaut in its tracks and made a bonfire of hard-Brexit.

And from the ashes arises a coalition of the Tories with the DUP. Just when we thought we might see an agenda that was forward-facing, open, tolerant and rooted in realism, we find that Mrs May has invited into the heart of Government a party whose standpoints include homophobia, forbidding of abortion, climate-change denial and Creationism. Will Mrs May stop at nothing to prolong her own and her party's feeble grip on power?

Grab a mallet everyone – there's a few more moles to whack before strong and stable government returns to this sceptered isle.

Comments

  1. Jilly Newstead10 June 2017 at 10:08

    Cogently written observations on the political mayhem which this country now has to endure. I simply do not recognise the country that I loved and of which I used to be so proud. I rejoiced in the compassionate ideals that welcomed the weak and vulnerable, the ideals that that upheld honour and graciousness and a country to which other nations looked to for integrity and truth. So very sad and disappointed.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lyn L-J10 June 2017 at 10:33

    Beautifully written, as always, Lotti.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Unknown10 June 2017 at 15:18

    Really well written. Can not believe how any responsible person could even consider using one of the Northern Ireland sectarian parties to prop up a minority government. The NI peace process (already precarious) relies on a delicate balance between both communities with the Westminster government maintaining some level of impartiality. How is that going to work now?
    Hope to see you soon Lotti, Love Hugh

    ReplyDelete

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