Dark Times Ahead for Britain

[fountainhall]

As has been said many times, Wnston Churchill probably summed it up best -

"No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others that have been tried from time to time."

But Churchill did not invent the phrase, which is presumably why he said "it has been said . . ."

I think more apt in the present situation of the leadership of democratic governance of major countries is this Chuchillian comment -

Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones.

Tumrp, Johnson (although not yet elected to leadership of his nation) and a good few others have shown in ample measure their inability to live up to that standard. How they will stand up to the great crises of the type Churchill faced, I hate to think!

I agree that Johnson was an effective leader of the city of London. Does being mayor of a city qualify one for leadership of a country? Perhaps sometimes. But I believe the problem in the United Kingdom, as it is in that other so-called beacon of democracy the United States, is the two-party system. The American founding fathers never envisioned the emergence of organised political parties. When they first appeared at the 1796 election it was, according the US History site,

a stunning new phenomenon that shocked most of the older leaders of the Revolutionary Era. Even Madison, who was one of the earliest to see the value of political parties, believed that they would only serve as temporary coalitions for specific controversial elections.

A two-party system of national governance worked when both parties worked together for the good of their countries. That involved discussion, participation and working together, respect and a degree of compromise. In both countries those requirements have totally disappeared. Now the two-party system is a wreck.

It is ruled in large part by obscenely humungous amounts of cash from people and organisations who will never see an election. That alone ensures new and/or smaller parties cannot compete in any meaningful manner. Gray no longer exists. Everything is either very black or very white. It has so divided membership within parties, so divided governments, so divided the electorates that it has ceased to work for the benefit of the country as a whole. The first-past-the-post system in the UK and the electoral college in the USA ensure that the democratic ideal of governance by a majority vote of the people just does not exist. Hence the emergence of charismatic buffoons as leaders whose chronic lying, manipulation, belief that constant repetition of fake news makes it fact, inability to form a broad concensus and no proven ability to lead at other than a local level.

http://www.ushistory.org/us/19c.asp

[Captain Kirk]

Check Corbyn's quotes. He is one of the few people who has been admiring the Venezuela regime. No lies there.

Whilst we are at it, can you name 10 coluntries that have been successful with the kind of socialist policies he advocates ? I can name no end of countries who are successful with low taxes & capitalism.

Northern Ireland has not been agitating for a referendum, although admittedly all has not been smooth there over the last few decades. If they want a referendum for independence or a merger with the republic, in principle I am all up for it. In practice, the unintended consequences need to be considered.

There is nothing anti-Scottish about objecting to disproportionately high public spending in Scotland AND more MPs per capita than England. Both are unfair.

You intimated that the UK would become another Venezuela, simply wouldn't happen. Corbyn is also not anti semitic but most definitely anti zionism. I just wish he had the cajones to come straight out and say it.
Objecting to spending in Scotland is fine, no problem but you really should also say you object to even more money being spent on Londoners and the Irish.
I'm happy to agree on the politicians though. Actually I'm not even sure what Scottish MPs do in London. We now have an MP in London and an MSP in Edinburgh, so seems to me they must both be part time jobs. Campaign to cut the numbers, you'd get my support.

Going back to Corbyn and whatever comments he has made, in my opinion Boris has made comments just as bad on many minority groups. Anti gay, anti Scottish, anti Muslim.....a man who worships money over victims of child sex abuse. Johnson is simply our version of Trump, so similar in character it's uncanny.

Low taxation v high taxation. The lower the taxation the more public services for the poorest in society are lost as is happening in the UK now. Services for the elderly and infirm, the disabled etc are being cut to the bone. NHS coming apart at the seams, police numbers being cut year on year, schools falling down around the ears of the pupils, libraries being closed, fire stations closed. It's disgusting.
I prefer the Scandinavian higher taxation type of model. I don't have much but if an extra 2 or 3% in tax would make things just a bit better for the less fortunate or for essential services then I have no objection.