Outside the party there was a consensus on the Tory's objective for this week. They had to make it seem as if election defeat was not absolutely inevitable. Somehow, and against all the odds, they needed to make enough people believe that there was still a reason of some sort to vote Tory.
I was not their target audience, to be fair. Them getting me to change my mind on this issue was never likely. But there must have been some people out there where it was at least possible that they might have just done that.
I now don't think so, not after the display on offer so far. All that the Tories have succeeded in doing is to prove that they are an utterly lost cause. Whatever hope they had before going to Manchester must have vapourised now. They are, literally, hopeless.
Sunak's disaster is the mismanagement of HS2. Whatever his decision, his inability to make it is enough to damn him, for good.
Other ministers have totally failed. Gillian Keegan's education idea was, for example, a non-statutory, guidance only, ban on mobile phones in schools. Ninety nine per cent of schools already have them. What she did not offer was money, which is what every public service needs.
She, like every minister so far, failed that test. They have reduced themselves to the status of memo writers to fill out their days until better paid jobs in the private sector will be their reward (they hope) for suffering all this.
Jeremy Hunt was the exception. He offered cuts, but no one wanted to hear because somewhere else whilst he was speaking Liz Truss was reviving memories of her premiership, to an ever grateful audience, including Nigel Farage.
There was more from her of the madness she revealed whilst in office. She will convince some Tory MPs that the trouble with Sunak is that he is a socialist at heart, and they must release their inner Conservatism. The rest of the country just think she is mad. You didn't need to watch much of what she said to work out why they might do so.
There is, however, in this near total collapse of a party that likes to think of itself as the greatest political winning machine in democratic history, singeing much more worrying to think about. That is its headlong rush to the far-right.
Remember that the creation of division, real or imagined, is the first tool of the fascist.
Braverman is doing it on migration and multiculturism.
Other ministers do it by trashing Labour policies that never existed. The claim that it had backed a meat tax was being rolled out again on Sky last night, and it was total nonsense. In fairness, Sophy Ridge made it clear that it was.
Keegan is trying it with mobile phones.
Meanwhile, Sunak resorts to double speak, another fascist tool. He is claiming his giving up on everything is all about taking long term decisions, when the exact opposite is the truth.
And during all this, the dogmatists will take delight as the puppets on the stages sing to their tunes.
There is delight to be had at Tory disarray from which it is virtually impossible to imagine that they can recover before an election.
There is concern that the alternative is a hollowed-out Labour Party that apes so much of what the Tories do.
But lurking underneath it all is the concern that the wreck of the Tories will turn into a full on fascist party, dedicated to a return to power at whatever the cost. There seems to be nothing to stop that. And the prospect is frightening when Labour will do nothing to stop them returning to power one day - not least by introducing PR.
My pleasure is decidedly muted.
Thanks for reading this post.
You can share this post on social media of your choice by clicking these icons:
You can subscribe to this blog's daily email here.
And if you would like to support this blog you can, here:
“But if you examine the matter aright, you will find that the chief responsibility rests with those whose aim is to win your favor, not to propose what is best. Some of them, so long as they can maintain the conditions which bring them reputation and influence, take no thought for the future and therefore think that you also should take none, while others, by accusing and slandering those who are actively at work, are simply trying to make the city spend its energies in punishing the members of its own body, and so leave Philip free to say and do what he likes.”
There are those in the vile-tory gov that have that most useless of degrees: a PPE from Oxford Uni. The Philosophy bit will have covered Athens and the speeches by Demosthenes. This is an extract from the 3rd Philippic. It shows that humans, for the most part, & politicians and their electorate have not changed in 2300 years. It shows that even when faced with clear & imminent danger – humans are incapable of taking action – be it against Philip of Macedon or now, the climate disaster plus all the other existential problems facing the Disunited Serfdom. The vile-tories are, now, human trash, Thatcher set the course and assorted vile-tory politicos have followed it. The end point was more or less predictable. The open question is what political forms replace vile-tory, vile-libeore and the useless lying Dems. I agree, the course for the vile-tory is something akin to corporate-fascism (a la Italy 1920s – 1930s). What can oppose it?
We can try.
What more?
What I don’t understand though and Labour are not much better (less bad) is they just dont look like a competent government.
I could possibly stomach a Government I didnt agree with but which seemed competent, got pensions and benefits paid properly and in accordance with the regulations, collected the taxes that were due, provided public services that did the job they were supposed to.
But this lot………
We have a right to a competent government. Unfortunately I know that this argument has an anti-democratic history. An argument that suggests voters are fools, vote in ignorance and hand over power to those that shouldn’t have it.
We have the right to strong public institutions who can provide checks and balances to insure that the government behaves according to the national interest. Yes the voters are somewhat responsible for who they vote; but the actual levers of power are never in their hands.
These institutions have been attacked and undermined. And this is a problem that the current opposition won’t talk about. I can see very little evidence to suggest something will change when the opposition becomes the next government.
It is so obvious what the Tories are doing, so obvious.
Does anyone really think that the jealousy of those without jobs or decent work will applaud the destruction of thousands of civil service jobs in a civil service that can’t do a good job even now for the same people who need better services and regulation?
The answer is yes actually. Yet there are plenty of suckers willing to fall for it.
Even a film like Spike Lee’s ‘Black Klannsman’ sets it all out for you.
And some of the suckers have money – lots of money. And therein lies the real threat, compounded by rampant inequality that sets neighbour against neighbour and prevents a solid mass of rejection and an epiphany forming.
On top of that, you realise – sickeningly – that we have become blind to fascism whilst being overly concerned with socialism.
We all know where this ends, yet we have fascism cavorting in public – legitimately in our supposedly modern agonistic politics that purports to tolerate and value ‘all’ points of view but is actually antagonistic and skillfully and sneakily and deftly shows valid alternatives the door thus maintaining the status quo.
But let’s’ be clear: all of this charade is enabled by money – and if we are to strike back in defence – that is where the fight needs to be and this is why Richard’s recent work on tax is so important.
The other area of optimism is the younger generation. If Stymied acts more like Starmer and commits to lowering the voting age if Laboured get in, this might help change voting patterns because it will be giving a voice to many lives not yet realised or just starting instead of just having voting patterns dominated by those at the other end of the life cycle. If Stymied reneges on that – that will be a big betrayal of the future and one that must be violently opposed in my view.
Otherwise, we are in a really big pickle. For me, it’s not a question of just opposing anything these Tories and their funders do, it’s how. Another source of hope is that the lurch to the Right will actually alienate the more reasonable Right wingers and leave the extreme Right isolated.
But mark my words – they will not be short of money, nor the opportunities to extend funding offshore from people willing and wanting to destabilise British internal politics and make more sinister relationships aided and abetted by too lose regulatory regimes.
My view is sooner or later we might find ourselves in struggles that are reminiscent of what we saw in the early 20th century – things might have to turn nasty and more direct.
It will be the thirties all over again
‘Certain winners’? ‘Certain’?
You have expressed valid concerns. They should not be minimised. All need to be thought about and addressed with words and actions.
First however, concern for children – for coming generations – is universal. Few can be convinced that their future in not threatened by climate and other environmental dangers.
Second, there is no other planet ready to take any earth refugees, their entourages and their families.
Third, the May 1940 situation could have been – probably was – described in similar ways. Yet, when Chamberlain resigned, Lord Halifax was the serious alternative to Churchill as a contender for the premiership. Halifax wanted to negotiate with Hitler – appeasement, I suppose. But Halifax recommended Churchill – and his rhetoric convinced parliament and then the vast majority of the British people – to the extent that all-out war was waged to a successful conclusion over the next five years: conscription for military service including total disruption of lives, of businesses, injuries and death; almost the whole of society dedicated itself to the cause – through horrendous set-backs, losses and disappointments.
Fourth, and above all else, there is so much goodness in people. Whatever hardships and horrors they have had to endure, people want others to prosper. The natural caring for others is demonstrated by what you wrote, Richard:
‘the archetypal goose for flying in a skein (the V shaped formation, which is, however, usually a bit lopsided). The lead bird is not an alpha, or a male. They just take it in turn to do the hard work, which the leading bird does. They work cooperatively, readily swapping roles, frequently. And if for any reason a bird needs to drop out of the skein and go to the ground two others group in the skein drop out with it, staying with it until it can return or it is clear it cannot survive.’ [The Tories have so much to learn from geese]. [and not just the Tories – JB]
Of course money is the calamitously distorting factor, but the underlying desire to help others in difficulties is there and, for most people when they are close to the hurt, it rises to trump all else – mostly.
The 1930’s – yes, that is what I was getting at, if not 1917 and all that too for good measure.
And it is the rich who will not have learned anything from history unfortunately as they take us back to what exactly?
I think people sense from their own lives the ‘glass ceilings and partitions’ that mean that they have to live with inequality. And some will not tolerate that. Hopefully many.
However, it would be wrong to say that this is just history repeating itself.
There are new forces at work – AI for one, which means that the rich will not/do not want our labour.
My view is that we’re being nudged into this new reality right now, hence the harsh conditions we’ve lived under since 2010. The rich don’t care if without work, we have no means to live (although their prescription for that is debt slavery anyway and low wages).
No one wants to think about that AI transition responsibly or any other opportunity other than saving money and increasing the wealth of wealth. And also in the process, investing in existing and new infrastructure (not HS2!!) or how we need an army of well-paid carers for example.
All the priorities are wrong and aimed at funneling economic benefits to the top of society that is already wealthy enough.
We’re heading fro trouble as long as this continues.
The biggest threat to the rich is not wanting people’s labour. That’s what will undermine them.
HS2. It will now go to Euston. This will probable end up more expensive than taking it from Birmingham and Manchester; but I promise you, when there is A £Bn sign round the government expenditure: London First, Last – and always. Live of. the scraps, Manchester. Trickle-down is for those gutless enough to accept they are second class citizens; and the Conservatives are confident everyone North of Watford will, in the end waffle politely, and settle for Second Best.
While the tory conference is going on, the covid enquiry has started again.
There has just been a video of people who lost someone to covid, or who have long covid.
At the end of it even the judge looked as though she had tears in her eyes.
This is something the tories need to take responsibility for, but they won’t.
Agreed
Anyone think this will work?
http://labourhub.org.uk/2023/10/03/for-the-many-network/
Some admirable desires expressed but it is probably doomed by naming it @labourhub however well intended
Labourhub is where I found the link.
It’s called For the Many network.
Excellent post Richard, thank you. Thank you that you, and others on the left are following the Tory conference so the rest of us don’t have to!
Key to making sure that the Tories never come back after a crushing defeat (here’s hoping), is indeed introducing PR (preferably STV), but as that is unlikely, Starmer needs to follow up on the promise to extend the vote to EU citizens and 16-17 year olds (neither would be a happy hunting ground for gathering Tory votes!).
If Labour isn’t the party backing a meat tax, then which is the party that does?
None
It’s incredible how many political parties claim to take the climate emergency seriously, but can’t think beyond their skulls to consider applying VAT to middle class meat (already applies to working class takeaways).
They won’t even talk about dogs or fuel for air freight either.
Essentially they don’t believe that climate change is a serious problem, they just consult the Tony Blair Institute for keeping things unchanged, and engage second gear only if they fear loss of votes.
Sunk invented it as a dead cat!
“… lurking underneath it all is the concern that the wreck of the Tories will turn into a full on fascist party…”
Indeed, Richard, indeed – and we have not had long to wait. I have just read the Guardian’s line by idiot-proof, short line record of the main and closing part of Braverman’s chilling speech this afternoon. This is the hell where May’s taunt about “citizens of nowhere” was always going to go – and, after Braverman’s jaunt to the haunts of ‘black money’ with her anti-immigrant rant, it seems that the importation of Trumpian and worse, neo-racist hysteria is already here.
The only question is whether this is a stench too far for what is left of the Tory voters and gammon discontents of ‘Engerland’ – for I cannot see it being other than emetic outside of English rightist heartlands. The recruiting of Shelley must surely have made most Mancunians spew.
If you wish to see what conservative Government and Conservatives are really like; go to the Covid Inquiry. Incompetence and stupidity on steroids. All you need to do is listen to Hugo Keith QC, Lead Counsel to the UK Public Inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic, coolly, dispassionately and with beautifully measured understatement, present the evidence on Johnson, Cummings, Hancock, et al.
Scotland? Run for your lives. Now. Braverman and Truss are coming.
Why is it I can’t help finding my mind wanders involuntarily into the imagination of Brecht’s ‘The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui’ (1941)? Perhaps because this is beginning to sound like the Conservative Party of the 1930s.
Covid enquiry now revealing the Tory governments including that of Sunak to be ignorant and incompetent and liars:-
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/oct/03/boris-johnsons-decision-making-was-bipolar-during-covid-says-top-adviser
Hard to believe the country’s descended to this level of wretchedness!
With this lot anything is believable.
At the moment they are talking about the increase in abuse against women and girls in lockdown.
“When I needed you to protect me you protected him instead” quoted just now.
TUC now.
Isaac Levido is the spider at the centre of this web, woven by far-right US money in the main, with side helpings of Russian oligarch, etc. US money has tentacles all over Labour too via vehicles like the Britain America Project.
Using the age-old mantra of ‘lie and lie consistently’ (due to the primacy effect the lie is remembered, not the debunk) every lie is a lever that may produce the cracks needed to keep power. If this strategy fails, defenestration of Sunak may follow, then the New Conservatives, Braverman at the helm. will move to the next step of fascism, properly fixing the elections. However I still expect a hung Parliament as the New Tories will summon enough bogeys to keep their 25% largely racist voters.
I find it strange that an ordinary member of the public like me has been predicting this since the rise of Thatcher . All the evidence has been there for all who study political history. It started with the demonisation of Soviet Russia after WW2. There was no reason why the wartime collaboration could not have continued. The Soviets were completely exhausted. They never had the financial or military might to attack the West. All through the Cold War I listened to the fantasy about imminent invasions . Even as a teenager I could never see the logic in the lies. Fortunately my Dad who had serves in the Far East also saw the propaganda for what is was. He never waivered from his belief that the Red Army played the pivotal role in the defeat of Nazi Germany. He gave me and my younger brothers an alternative view of history. I ask again . How could ordinary working class people see the truth about the aims of the Right Wing establishment but not politicians who ruled us?