27 October 2014

State of the nation


The British political system is broken. Stable democracy has evolved into empty posturing, as the 3 major parties seek to hold off the far right and to slow down their own relentless decay with the sticking plasters of sound bites and special offers. Whether the system can be patched up & kept going, like a clapped out motor car, or whether it needs to be replaced, will probably become obvious over the next year or two.

For clues, we should pay more attention to what is happening elsewhere in Europe, and to remember that the so-called United Kingdom is not so very different.

Replacement could bring a much needed opportunity for a system which is fair and representative, no longer playing the submissive bitch[1] to free market capitalism, looking with humility to the future rather than with arrogance to the past. Or it could create a vacuum to be filled with chaos and the diseased politics of the far right.

Interesting times. No doubt bringing some entertainment to those wearied by Britain's pantomime stomping about on the world stage, but a source of real anxiety to anyone who cares about its political future.






[1] That is a canine analogy, not a term of disrespect to half the world's human population, just to be clear


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