17 September 2020
Life in an Uncertain Environment
Political Parties
by Vic Leader
It’s a new month, a new season and time for a new perspective. So let’s get straight in to it.
I could never be a Corbynista. That said I could never be a Brownite, Blairite, Johnsonite, Mayist, Cameronesi, Davisist, Lucasade, nor yet allow any individual to assume ownership of my own thoughts. Life is far too short to be following a politician! Spending one’s moments recording in petty detail the tit for tat spats; really that’s too much.
Indeed, the whole blather and nonsense of party politics is beyond my patience. But I have to confess, the problem is that I’ve not come up with an alternative. I did think it might be a good idea to have a “Representation of the People Act”. There was even a period when I thought we had one. I think a defining moment in the destruction of that myth for me was back in the last century. The Handbag had gone and the Grey Man had succeeded to the throne. He even came across as a decent sort of ordinary bloke until he uttered what for me were the defining words: “My first loyalty is to my party”.
Well that was it, the truth out of the bag. Party politics isn’t about representing the people, it’s about following a dogma. Like religion but without the cuddly cushion of eternal life.
That is not to say that certain over-riding principles are not worthy of upholding; championing the underdog, lifting the dead hand of the State, shouting for a cleaner world, and the likes. But surely these are issues that all parties should be involved in. Here lies my major problem. From first-hand eye witnesses I am aware that when a good idea comes to the table, even where there is broad agreement on its worth, party politicians can be ‘whipped’ (if only) to disagree. The reasons may be from a choice of many, e.g. we won’t support this unless you support that (totally unconnected matter), we can’t have you getting the credit when it’s our mantra. To hell with the ordinary folk out there who might benefit, we have some points to score.
Moving on perhaps certain words should be banned from politics. Again here are but a few, add your own to taste, you’ll get the drift: always, ever, never, promise, truth, absolutely. Do they really think they have the power to do everything they say? Is it that having educated the nation to such a low standard they think we might actually believe their words?
Is it truly too much to ask that we could be presented with reality? The future is uncertain, we know far less than we think, the human world is a harsh place (no, really). The world (and universe) is in a state of constant flux. The politician’s job should be to offer visions of paths through the maze, promising the earth is unhelpful and a major reason they have lost our trust. That is a subject I will return to another day.
