1984 was a difficult year for me. I moved my new family out of London on 4th April and by the end of the month I was unemployed. It was a hard time.
The fictional 1984 was much worse envisaging a totalitarian state. I did not see it as prophetic. Yet here we are in 2022 living in a world where those that govern us seem to consider themselves more and more above the law. Every day there appears to be new example of what (allegedly) appear to be nepotism, corruption, greed with no concern for ordinary citizens trying to lead their lives.
Having removed the current Prime Minister, because of his unsuitability for public office, I had a faint hope that there could be change. I realise I was being naive, unrealistic. Surely there could be a candidate for the Leadership of the party who would show integrity, compassion, not be in it for themselves? So out of the candidates there were two possible outsiders who seemed less tainted by the government than the rest of them. Needless to say they did not make it to the final selection where the leadership contest ended up being between the former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and the Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, hardly new faces.
A week or so into their leadership battle low and behold both of the outside candidates are now backing Liz Truss who is positioning herself largely as the continuation candidate (even Boris Johnson endorses her, surely that should be the kiss of death to her chances). Apparently not.
Both candidates are vying with each other to be anti-woke. Of course Liz Truss is the current Equalities Minister, not that should be any impediment in reducing rights for minorities as she says she will dispense with diversity posts in the Civil Service along with many other proposals. Rishi Sunak seems to be suggesting a return to the s.28 mentality as well as suggesting that there are difficulties with implementing policy because of Human Rights. This is he endorses a new Human Rights Bill which will of course not hamper the government in implementing policy. Then the government wants to leave the European Court of Human Rights, a court the UK instigated and helped to set up to protect Human Rights after the Second World War. If the UK does leave the court I believe we will be the only country to have done so apart from Russia.
Also supporting Liz Truss is Sue Bravermann, the Attorney General who has instructed government lawyers not to advise Ministers if a policy is illegal unless there is absolutely no argument that can be made that might support what they wish to do.
They have already managed to control the right to protest with the Policing Bill and on it goes. The outgoing Prime Minister is proposing to rig the House of Lords by creating around fifty new peers, Tory peers who, allegedly, are being required to support government policy to be nominated. The Met Police not holding politicians to account, the government attacking the independence of the judiciary.
Its the sheer audacity, the taking people for stupid that annoys me. The multi billion contracts given to patently inappropriate companies because of connections, the VIP lane, the Prime Minister having his 81 year old father nominated to be the COP26 Ambassador, thankfully blocked.
This would appear to be an anti Tory rant and I suppose it is. It did not intend to be. More I am sickened by the complete absence of integrity, the greed, the lying, the nothing to see here attitude. It just happens that the present government is Tory and are the party that are acting in this manner. I would feel the same whatever party behaved in this way.
It just seems to me that we are heading towards a totalitarian state, wrapped in this cloak of faux democracy where all the levers of power and control have been and are being subsumed into the hands of the very few for their benefit. Frankly, I find it really scary and can only hope that people will step up at the next general election, let their voices be heard, that the opposition parties will work together to ensure this government, or any government that acts in this way, is shown the door and that by the time the next election arrives it is not too late.
It's never too late.... 