At the End of the Day

Brexit: the first step towards entrepreneurial mutualism

On May 9th 2015 – after the stunning scale of the Conservative ‘victory’ became clear – I wrote this post pointing out how only a ludicrously unfair electoral system could’ve handed victory to one minority Party. In it, as a historian fascinated by rhyming history, I reiterated an ancient mantra of mine:

‘….it is an uncanny irony of history that, just when people, organisations and regimes seem to be at the height of their power, a dramatic fall from grace ensues….As one of the disenfranchised, I take some comfort from the result. Not much – but some. I do have a hunch that one of the top Cabinet members will have a Poll Tax moment: there is no Government more prone to banana skins than an overconfident Conservative one.’

IDS wouldn’t have been the first name I’d have pulled out of the hat as being likely to have a Poll Tax moment, but then this sudden talk of ‘enough is enough’ on welfare cuts is nothing like the public outcry that hastened the Mad Handbag’s demise.

Back then, there were still enough politically aware people saying “enough is enough” to put on a good old-fashioned riot; it is the only thing our legislators understand, and always has been, because they just don’t bloody listen. When riots happen, it is a failure of the political class, not the citizenry. Not only have there been no riots during the six years of this mandate-free minority Government: there seemed no likelihood there would be. Now that is a failure of the citizenry….and of course, the triumph of robotic education.

The decency axis and the British Left have been gifted the most incredibly lucky bounce by Duncan-Smith’s meltdown in the short term, and the insufferable arrogance of the EU fonctionnaire club over many years. However, at the core, IDS took his revenge not on the basis of policy – his claim to that Crown was risible – but because the jumped-up snob son of a Fulham Road draper was both rude about his IQ level…..and allowed his Sir Humphreys carte blanche to dismiss IDS’s every objection in the most patronising manner imaginable.

Despite their good fortune, neither the SNP nor the Labour Party was in a position to maul the Prime Minister and his disgracefully absent Chancellor in the House this afternoon. The reason is simple: the last thing Sturgeon and Corbyn want is for Cameron to lose the referendum, for then they will no longer be in their beloved jackbooting European Union. So Cameron got the kid gloves treatment.

I’m beginning to wonder, in fact, if the Labour Party simply isn’t cut out for Opposition. As the Government after 1945, they achieved an incredible amount with very little money. But in the aftermath of the General Strike in 1926 (and throughout the 1930s) they failed, they split, and were very slow to wake up to the Hitler threat. During the Thatcher years, they ummed and aaghed and lurched to the Bloomsbury Left. Only Wilson in the 1960-64 period showed the Parliamentary skills and PR genius to make the ailing Conservative Government look corrupt and worn out. And now today, with cocky Conservatism at their mercy, they are still unable – when handed a rasor-sharp knife – to plunge it into King Duncan’s chest.

The problem is, as always, their reflexive imprisonment by ideology….and desperation to hide it with spin whenever the Right Wing media take a swing at them.

Not only do they need to hide the ideology that makes their attitudes so inflexible, they retreat from reality into it. For the Left, the belief system becomes a Hideology.

By contrast, the Tories are an equal danger to liberty: not even having a philosophy beyond power and munnneeee, they have no respect for law, separation of powers, constitutional procedures and electoral proprieties.

Meanwhile – but very few people noticed in all the excitement – the main question of the hour remains stuck at Dead Heat: 40 out, 41 in, 19 undecided. Whatever happens, there will be no winners….merely sore losers.

On balance, the decision to leave is the best one. It’s now clear that not only will we be free of conrolling madness and fiscal disaster in Brussels and Frankfurt; its legislative supporters here will be left with but one aim: to get back in again. But – able at last to focus on them alone,

Filed under: At the End of the Day, Uncategorized Tagged: A staging post, Brexit