I am for all intents and purposes a conservative though I hope you note with a small c, which sub-genre I am not sure. To say that you are conservative is an ordeal in itself such are the politically charged times we live in, politics feels dirty and no matter which side you bat for the dirt flung from either side hits all the same. Perhaps I should quickly summarise my beliefs. I believe that the state should be limited in its powers and keep out of affairs that are personal including marriage and religion, as an adage I believe in personal liberty and personal responsibility for ones actions, and a part of my being does feel that some things are best done slowly and with consideration with all that has come before and will yet come. I hope based on those beliefs I am not too objectionable a character.
I believe all these things yet I cannot bring myself to believe that in the context of UK politics such a force exists, at least in the political mainstream. Essentially I suppose I feel disenfranchised. Abandoned by the 3 P's, politicians, politics, and parties. I suspect it is not a feeling that I am alone in feeling, nor do I suspect it is one limited to persons of my political persuasion. I do not wish to indulge in nostalgia - I am not suggesting that any particular generation "had it so good". Rather that the gap between the ruled and rulers has widened. I speak generally of course, as always there will be exceptions that constituency MP who really does work hard for the voters, taking there concerns to parliament and using his or her judgement to best suit the interests of the people. However its hard to deny that the politician as a generic sub-species is looking increasingly clone like. They work in think tanks, or PR, by the age of 30 they are elected to parliament by a party system that seeks nothing more than to elevate them as quickly as possible. The professorial politician.
Now more than ever Westminster is becoming a world of its own, a political class trained to work on its benches rather than feeling any civic duty, its own vernacular with statements that say a lot and mean little, where language is used to confuse simple ideas. Does anybody feel they can honestly relate to any of the big political headlines over the last couple of decades? I personally find it hard to. Pleb-gate being a case in practice, the political scandal of the decade thus far. Did we all care so much about that one man called another a name? A name indeed that no longer holds relevance in today's lexicon? My background is firmly working class - I use the word pleb as an endearing term to throw at friends during acts of immense stupidity - usually on the football pitch not as an indication of their class. The papers had a field day and convinced us otherwise - this was a class war the truth much duller - establishment infighting - the government, the police the media 3 organisations who have become too bloated and forgotten there duties. Sky News, BBC News, the totality of mainstream broadcast media were live at the scene of the heinous offence. Blame needed to be apportioned, somebody had to go - and go he did. Though recent revelations appear to suggest a degree of injustice present in the whole saga. That I suppose is the biggest fault of the system - the need to attribute blame has reached a level where facts no longer matter, events no longer matter. All symptoms seem to point to a political industry that chronically runs around chasing its own tail like a demented dog.
This Parliament consists of members who have dipped there hands in the till from the money we permit them, who accuse others of violating laws they themselves seemingly fall foul of, who in fact do not even take the care to read the very law they enact. Surely these are the things that should vex us? Instead the trebuchet is loaded with the political tittle tattle that interests only a select few, politics has become an extension of the daytime TV revelation chat show, and the press its glossy magazine parasitical companion, one need only look at the incestuous relationships at the very top, Blair the godfather to Murdoch's baby, Adam Boulton is practically related to the Labour Party, Cameron and Brooks the list goes on, no side can claim any sanctimony and the examples could fill the government spending gap. Yet they remain our elected representatives - and I suppose the blame must fall on us - the electorate. We are the fools who give them office and in turn power, and must never forget that fact for we and we alone are the only means of removing them and until we do will only have ourselves to blame.
Its a sorry state of affairs. The political elite have created a system where they are largely unaccountable. By transferring power to organisations and bodies both foreign and domestic that are not subject to the simplest form of democratic procedure (that is direct vote) policy remains largely unchanged no matter what party holds office. That is because politicians that we elect to make decisions on our behalf no longer make them. This is not always a terrible thing to do, in some instances such as restraining inflation by removing the governments ability to set interest rates for short term political gain has proven effective but it should not be applied to every branch of government. Ultimately I can't help but feel that an entity that holds office, and power without tangible responsibility - where one is more likely to lose a job for a PR gaffe than stealing money from the public at large will only become further corrupted and further detached from its source of power - the people.
The gradual shredding of responsibility has I suggest created a lawless political elite, that left unchecked will lead us all to a darker tomorrow. Then again what will I do to stop this? Write a blog - post a comment here and there. My laziness is indicative of a generation, we have accepted the status quo and deserve our fate.
Enough bile, perhaps something light hearted next time.
Insider sources tell me that the Tories will be using this as a party political broadcast at the next election...Enjoy
This Parliament consists of members who have dipped there hands in the till from the money we permit them, who accuse others of violating laws they themselves seemingly fall foul of, who in fact do not even take the care to read the very law they enact. Surely these are the things that should vex us? Instead the trebuchet is loaded with the political tittle tattle that interests only a select few, politics has become an extension of the daytime TV revelation chat show, and the press its glossy magazine parasitical companion, one need only look at the incestuous relationships at the very top, Blair the godfather to Murdoch's baby, Adam Boulton is practically related to the Labour Party, Cameron and Brooks the list goes on, no side can claim any sanctimony and the examples could fill the government spending gap. Yet they remain our elected representatives - and I suppose the blame must fall on us - the electorate. We are the fools who give them office and in turn power, and must never forget that fact for we and we alone are the only means of removing them and until we do will only have ourselves to blame.
Its a sorry state of affairs. The political elite have created a system where they are largely unaccountable. By transferring power to organisations and bodies both foreign and domestic that are not subject to the simplest form of democratic procedure (that is direct vote) policy remains largely unchanged no matter what party holds office. That is because politicians that we elect to make decisions on our behalf no longer make them. This is not always a terrible thing to do, in some instances such as restraining inflation by removing the governments ability to set interest rates for short term political gain has proven effective but it should not be applied to every branch of government. Ultimately I can't help but feel that an entity that holds office, and power without tangible responsibility - where one is more likely to lose a job for a PR gaffe than stealing money from the public at large will only become further corrupted and further detached from its source of power - the people.
The gradual shredding of responsibility has I suggest created a lawless political elite, that left unchecked will lead us all to a darker tomorrow. Then again what will I do to stop this? Write a blog - post a comment here and there. My laziness is indicative of a generation, we have accepted the status quo and deserve our fate.
Enough bile, perhaps something light hearted next time.
Insider sources tell me that the Tories will be using this as a party political broadcast at the next election...Enjoy
