The Labour Party, its members and activists, having endured the vast spectrum of disappointment their conferences brought, from the milk toast to the outright offensive, will be hard-pressed to find the enthusiasm to follow the Tory party conference. It is being held in Manchester and runs from October 3rd until 6th.
But should the Left find the enthusiasm to watch it?
Johnson gets helping hand from the mainstream media
Given what should be a simple task of putting the ball in the back of the net, the UK’s mainstream media, in particular the print press, will be mindful not to lay too many land mines for Johnson and his band of aggrieved, opportunistic, hate-filled grifters.
The most ‘beige’ of usual tropes from the predominantly right-wing press was on full display in the lead up to the Tory party conference: ‘Boris Johnson…warned…he needs to do more to show he is pro-business…tax hikes threaten…the Conservatives’ claim to be the party of enterprise,’ soft-balled Emily Sheffield’s Evening Standard.
In a laughable attempt at showing the Tories’ inclusive bona fides, the Mail entertained us by spotlighting some nepotism of the highest order. Carrie Johnson is to be wheeled in to give a winning strategy for the culture war. Johnson clearly has an eye on ‘Carrie Johnson will give LGBT+ rights speech at Tory party conference’s Pride. reception’
Ensuring nothing can possibly go wrong for the ideologically bereft but ever so self-serving Johnson, the Express passed the ball completely, focusing on ‘Labour think tank warns things to look out for in looming Tory conference ‘A distraction!’
Whilst Andrew Harrop, General Secretary of the Fabian Society, is very correct that the Tory party conference is ‘a distraction’, the aim of his focus is way off.
Whilst the fuel and labour crisis have a here-and-now urgency, there are much bigger issues for the UK public, both immediately and in the long term, none of which will be amplified, or perhaps even covered, during the Tory party conference.
Jovial Jerk-off or Power crazed authoritarian?
The notion of the ‘swivel-eyed loon’ Etonian baffling the populous with his babbling gibberish is most certainly embodied by Johnson. For some of the electorate, too many, far too many, this ‘jovial’ but establishment figure is appealing. However, what is overlooked is the aggrievement that fuels a rage against all things democratic. Take a close look at Johnson and this will be seen, as clear as Trump’s ‘disgust’ at the rule of law in the US!
Like a child getting his own back, Johnson usurps our courts
Johnson was in a rage, and still is, over the UK supreme court humiliating him when they delivered a unanimous 11-0 reversal of Johnson’s attempt to prorogue parliament in 2019.
He is adamant he will have the last word. Terrifyingly, he may well have it.
In order to prevent a branch of government, the courts, ever being able to stop an authoritarian state ruling by diktat, Johnson is very keen on a bill to reform judicial review.
Judicial review is the process by which courts can overturn unlawful decisions by a government. This is a fundamental protection for the People and is simply one branch of government, the courts, balancing another, the executive.
The bill goes as far as to attempt to explicitly ban the ‘11th-hour’ judicial review which is often used in ‘time sensitive’ cases such as immigration and proposed deportation. This will neuter the judiciary in attempting to act for the People.
This sure looks like a petulant child taking revenge on someone for pointing out that they have attempted to cheat and ignore the rules. Bear in mind Tories are the people of tradition, norms and upholding historical precedent. Except when they are not!
Protesting may be a story we tell our children about
‘But it will be ok. We, the People, will take to the streets to protest any such move’.
Except that under the new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, ministers will have the power to suppress just about any protest they don’t like.
Make no mistake, they are ‘playing for keeps’. If found guilty of breaking this law, it can be punishable by up to 10 years in jail!
To break this law? Well, that is a serious business too. You can cause an infraction by causing ‘serious annoyance’ to the public.
This bill will give powers to the police to clamp down on a demonstration, or simply ban it should they choose, with the slimmest and flimsiest of reasons. If the noise from a demonstration was loud enough to cause someone overhearing it ‘serious unease’, that would be breaking this law.
Are we to see the end of whistleblowing?
Even if we could protest, how we would know that there is anything serious to protest about?
Whistleblowers or journalists have been the conduits for the general public finding out about serious corruption, law-breaking and incompetence in government.
Not for much longer. Johnson has plans to widen the scope of the Official Secrets Act, applying it to more areas of government and increasing the punishments and he has personally ensured there will be no public interest defence for journalists or their sources.
If you can’t beat them? Make them disappear
As remarkable as it is to imagine there is more on the cards to further strengthen his grip, permanently, on power, for himself and for those of his political persuasion that follow him, there is the Elections Bill to consider.
The primary assault of this bill is to reduce and remove as many voters, those that are likely to vote for parties other than Conservative. This is under the virtually non-existent guise of ‘voter fraud’. The mechanism they want to use is the photo ID.
What have we learned?
Yes, the Tory Party conference will undoubtedly be a victory of splendid ennui and stage-managed vapid outward status quo.
However, the aggrievement running through the veins of those on show is tangible.
Any individual, organisation or institution that attempts to hold Johnson to any standard, let alone the standards expected within a democracy, will feel the full reach, force and consequences of the already most powerful man in the UK.
The contempt for an educated ‘lower order’ is on display every day in this administration. Just the notion of a highly educated working class is an anathema and an affront. For ‘normal’ people having worked their way to positions of responsibility, despite all the roadblocks put in their way, the nepotism deployed and the sheer brute force of the establishment upper class is not to be tolerated and needs to be reversed as soon as possible.
Despite the naked contempt shown for the judiciary, the institutions that ‘independently’ review staples of society such as elections and communications and the views of the People at large, there is a special aggrievement for those in society that change how society visibly looks.
They are repulsed by the notion that they have to see women wearing headscarves and other forms of dress they are not ‘used’ to. The idea that they should have to learn ‘new’ words because that is how a section of society describes themselves appals them. For them, seeing people who do not ‘look’ like them causes such dissonance that they have to go to great lengths at first to halt their numbers. Eventually this will lead to all-out attempts to reduce those numbers despite the fact they are swimming the strongest tide possible. Simple demographic change.
This is the aggrievement that is screaming inside Johnson and his ilk. He, and they, will not stop until they get the ‘society’ they want. This is not a drill, this is happening now. We need to know what the fight is and we need to take it on.
Watching the Tory conference this week will not help us. Looking at the bills they are trying to pass and their assaults on culture will reveal their agenda and reveal who they really are.
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Hi. I am Dave Elliott. I have been deeply interested and invested in politics as far back as I can remember and have been a Socialist since I was approximately seven years old. What a weird and creepy kid, right?
Despite being told that I would ‘grow up and out of’ my left leanings, I have moved further left over time. It has been this journey that led me to understand that my efforts within electoral and party politics were making little if any difference to the material lives of my community and society.
It was this realisation that gave me the kick I needed to make more direct contributions at the grassroots. The creation of the YouTube channel, Party Political Puffin and the associated website have been a way to communicate with Comrades on the left and challenge those on the right.
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Solidarity, Comrade.
Dave
Just read this Dave, it is superb and to the point with no holds barred. I loved it. Hope we see more of this and it helps to turn the Tory tide. ‘Swivel eyed loon’ classic stuff.
@ann-marcial